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BACKGROUND: Appropriate training and obtaining adequate competency in basic surgical skills is very essential for a fresh postgraduate in surgical specialties to deliver effectively various responsibilities. Due to absence of any methodology to assess these skills before entry into the surgical residency program, anxiety and low confidence regarding the skills, there is delay in allotting graded responsibilities by the faculty and seniors. Hence a short structured training program to address these skills was planned and implemented. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and forty two trainees underwent this course in last five years. The training included very basic surgical skills demonstrated and hands on training in controlled environment of clinical skills laboratory. Secondary outcome was assessed for available forty three trainees. RESULTS: The immediate feedback suggested that the training was necessary, very useful and perception wise the trainees felt their competencies improved significantly from 60 -80%. They also opined that these facilities should be allowed to use regularly and all of them opined that they wish to be assessed after three months to assess internalization of skills obtained. Retention test was conducted for 43 available postgraduates in the form of OSCE .Their scores revealed good improvement in the skills by 60-80% suggesting the utility of the training and improvement in the competencies. CONCLUSION: Training of various basic surgical skills in a controlled environment improves competencies of fresh postgraduates, improves their confidence and reduces time for allotting graded responsibilities

One of the major components of medical education is training individuals in various skills related to health care. Training directly on patients has its challenges due to limited opportunities, concerns for patient safety and reluctance of patients. Clinical Skills Laboratory provides a stress-free environment for learning and honing skills under direct supervision. Surgery is predominantly a craft-based branch of medicine and undergraduate medical students have very little exposure to it. With an objective of improving basic surgical skills and improving the competency, a short-term training programme in the form of a workshop was planned, executed in a dedicated Clinical Skills Laboratory for interns posted in the surgical branches. The core areas of training were basic surgical skills required in day-to-day practice in the surgical specialties. Five broad categories of skills, gowning and gloving, instrument handling, knot tying, suturing techniques and universal precautions, were dealt with demonstration and hands-on practice sessions. A total of 14 skills lab training sessions over a period of 3 years from February 2014–March 2017 were conducted where a total of 264 interns participated. Analysis of the feedback showed 62.87% of the participants felt that the content was excellent, 63.63% opined that the presentations were excellent, 76.13% appreciated the demonstration and 60.6% were satisfied with the time allotted for practice sessions. This short-term training in basic surgical skills in a controlled environment helped in improving the interns’ skills and confidence. Implementation of basic surgical skills training provided a complementary experience that facilitates the shortening of the learning curve and enhances the ability of the new doctors to perform various procedures. This model of training in skills laboratories could be inculcated in the curriculum as practical training for effective delivery of health care.

Background: Geriatric population is a special subgroup of population undergoing emergency abdominal surgeries. Both higher age group and emergency surgical procedure are considered as high risk factors. In this study, we study the most common cause for geriatric population to undergo an emergency abdominal surgery and the therapeutic outcomes. Methods: All the patients aged more than 60 years coming to surgical department, BLDEU’s hospital with acute abdominal conditions. Study period was from Jan 2010 to Jan 2013. All patients aged more than 60 years old admitted with abdominal emergency conditions in department of surgery. Geriatric patients coming with blunt trauma of abdomen also included. Exclusion criteria were immunocompromised patients. Results: 128 patients aged 60 years or more who presented with abdominal emergency surgical conditions were studied. Most common cause for emergency abdominal surgery was perforated peptic ulcer (38%) followed by intestinal obstruction (17%). The most common post-operative complication was surgical site infection (29%). Mortality rate was 17%. Most common cause of death was septic shock with multi organ dysfunction. Conclusion: Geriatric population is an important subgroup of population undergoing emergency abdominal surgeries. Most common cause is peptic ulcer perforation followed by intestinal obstruction due to adhesions. More than the age per say, the delay in presentation may be the cause for mortality in this age group. The therapeutic outcome in patients with co morbid factors like hypertension and diabetes mellitus in control, were similar to other patients.