Disparities between resident and attending surgeon perceptions of intraoperative teaching

BackgroundThis study aimed to assess attending surgeon and resident recall of good and poor intraoperative teaching experiences and how often these experiences occur at present.MethodsBy web-based survey, we asked US surgeons and residents to describe their best and worst intraoperative teaching experiences during training and how often 26 common intraoperative teaching behaviors occur in their current environment.ResultsA total of 346 residents and 196 surgeons responded (51 programs; 26 states). Surgeons and residents consistently identified trainee autonomy, teacher confidence, and communication as positive, while recalling negatively contemptuous, arrogant, accusatory, or uncommunicative teachers. Residents described intraoperative teaching behaviors by faculty as substantially less frequent than faculty self-reports. Neither sex nor seniority explained these results, although women reported communicative behaviors more frequently than men.ConclusionsAlthough veteran surgeons and current trainees agree on what constitutes effective and ineffective teaching in the operating room, they disagree on how often these behaviors occur, leaving substantial room for improvement.