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Medical students’ perspectives on and understanding of anesthesiology: a Canadian cross-sectional survey

Le point de vue et la compréhension de l’anesthésiologie par les étudiant·es en médecine : un sondage transversal canadien

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Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

In Canada, three out of 17 medical schools do not mandate an anesthesia rotation in their clerkship curriculum. Understanding the effects of a mandatory anesthesiology rotation is important in determining its value to the specialty and guiding decision-making for medical educators. We sought to determine whether a mandatory anesthesia rotation affected students’ understanding of anesthesiology, as well as their perspectives on anesthesia.

Methods

We conducted an anonymous cross-sectional survey of Canadian medical students graduating in 2021. Our survey consisted of 46 questions related to student’s perspectives of anesthesiology, understanding of anesthesia, their interest in the specialty, and participant’s demographics. This included 16 Likert-scale questions, 19 quiz-style questions, four free-text response questions, and seven demographics questions. The survey was hosted by SurveyMonkey® (SurveyMonkey Inc., San Mateo, CA, USA) and distributed to the participants by each individual institution.

Results

We collected a total of 331 responses across 13 different Canadian medical schools, representing a 17.3% response rate of students surveyed and 11.7% of all graduating medical Canadian students in 2021. A mandatory rotation in anesthesiology was associated with a more positive perspective (P = 0.01) but not understanding (P = 0.07) of the specialty. A mandatory rotation was not related to students’ application to anesthesiology at a statistically significant level (P = 0.06).

Conclusions

The results of this national survey study show the benefits of including a mandatory clerkship rotation in anesthesiology, namely on increasing positive perceptions of the specialty, while also revealing avenues for future research and insights on how to further optimize a mandatory anesthesiology rotation in clerkship.

Résumé

Objectif

Au Canada, trois facultés de médecine sur 17 n’exigent pas de stage clinique en anesthésie dans leur programme. Il est important de comprendre les effets d’un stage obligatoire en anesthésiologie afin de déterminer sa valeur pour la spécialité et d’orienter la prise de décision en matière d’éducation médicale. Nous avons cherché à déterminer si un stage obligatoire en anesthésie affectait la compréhension de l’anesthésiologie par les étudiant·es, ainsi que leurs points de vue sur l’anesthésie.

Méthode

Nous avons mené un sondage transversal anonyme auprès d’étudiant·es en médecine qui ont obtenu leur diplôme en 2021 au Canada. Notre sondage comportait 46 questions portant sur leur point de vue sur l’anesthésiologie, leur compréhension de l’anesthésie, leur intérêt pour la spécialité et les caractéristiques démographiques des personnes interrogées. Le sondage comprenait 16 questions sur l’échelle de Likert, 19 questions courtes de type quiz, quatre questions à réponse libre et sept questions démographiques. Le sondage était hébergé par SurveyMonkey® (SurveyMonkey Inc., San Mateo, Californie, États-Unis) et a été distribué aux participant·es par chaque institution.

Résultats

Nous avons recueilli un total de 331 réponses dans 13 facultés de médecine canadiennes différentes, ce qui représente un taux de réponse de 17,3 % des étudiant·es interrogé·es et de 11,7 % de tous les étudiant·es en médecine diplômé·es en 2021 au Canada. Un stage obligatoire en anesthésiologie était associé à une perspective plus positive (P = 0,01) mais pas à une meilleure compréhension (P = 0,07) de la spécialité. Un stage obligatoire n’était pas lié aux demandes d’admission en anesthésiologie à un niveau statistiquement significatif (P = 0,06).

Conclusion

Les résultats de cette enquête nationale montrent les avantages de l’inclusion d’un stage obligatoire en anesthésiologie, notamment pour accroître les perceptions positives de la spécialité, tout en révélant des pistes de recherche futures et des idées sur la façon d’optimiser davantage un stage clinique obligatoire en anesthésiologie.

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Author contributions

Michael Nixon and Daniel Cordovani contributed to protocol design, data collection, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. Monica Brundage contributed to data analysis and manuscript preparation. Ligia Cordovani contributed to protocol design, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. Adrienne Carr contributed to protocol design and manuscript preparation. Joycelyne Ewusie contributed to data analysis.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Sara Miller, MSc (Scientific Editor, Department of Anesthesia – Research Office, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada) for help in preparing this manuscript for submission. We also want to thank the anesthesiology undergraduate program directors and the program administrative personnel who assisted in getting the necessary approvals in their institutions and for facilitating distribution of the survey.

Disclosures

None.

Funding statement

None.

Prior conference presentations

This study was presented as an abstract at the 2022 Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society Annual Meeting (24–26 June, Halifax, NS, Canada).

Editorial responsibility

This submission was handled by Dr. Stephan K. W. Schwarz, Editor-in-Chief, Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d’anesthésie.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesia, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Michael Nixon MD, Monica Brundage MD & Joycelyne Ewusie PhD

  2. Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Ligia Cordovani MD, MSc

  3. Department of Anesthesia, Pain Management, & Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Adrienne Carr MD

  4. Department of Anesthesia, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Room HSC-2V9, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada

    Daniel Cordovani MD, MSc

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  1. Michael Nixon MD
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Correspondence to Daniel Cordovani MD, MSc.

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Nixon, M., Brundage, M., Cordovani, L. et al. Medical students’ perspectives on and understanding of anesthesiology: a Canadian cross-sectional survey. Can J Anesth/J Can Anesth (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12630-024-02751-z

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