Abstract
Background Student acquisition of technical skills during the clinical years of medical school has been steadily declining. To address this issue, the authors instituted a fresh cadaver-based Emergency Surgical Skills Laboratory (ESSL). Methods Sixty-three medical students rotating through the third-year surgery clerkship participated in a 2-hour, fresh cadaver-based ESSL conducted during the first 2 days of the clerkship. The authors evaluated students utilizing both surgical skills and written examination before the ESSL and at 4 weeks post ESSL. Results Students demonstrated a mean improvement of 64% (±11) (P <.001) and 38% (±17) (P <.001) in technical skills and clinical knowledge, respectively. When technical skills were compared between cohorts, there were no differences observed in both pre- and post-testing (P =.08). Conclusions A fresh cadaver laboratory is an effective method to provide proficiency in emergency technical skills not acquired during the clinical years of medical school. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.