The Impact of Surgical Boot Camp on Medical Student Confidence and Imposter Syndrome.

INTRODUCTION: Transitioning from medical student to surgical intern is accompanied by increased responsibility, stress, and clinical burden. This environment lends itself to imposter syndrome (IS), a psychological condition grounded in self-doubt causing fear of being discovered as fraud despite adequate abilities. We hypothesized a 2-week surgical boot camp for fourth year medical students would improve confidence in technical skills/knowledge and IS. METHODS: Thirty medical students matching into surgical specialties completed the boot-camp in February 2020. Presurveys/postsurveys assessed confidence levels using a 1-5 Likert scale regarding 32 technical skills and knowledge points. The Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) assessed IS, where increasing scores correlate to greater IS. RESULTS: Median (interquartile range [IQR]) subject age was 27 y (26, 28), 20 (66.7%) were male, and 21 (70%) were Caucasian. Of the 30 students, 23 (76.7%) had a break in training with a median [IQR] of 2 [1, 3] y outside of medicine. Confidence scores were significantly improved in all five assessment categories (P < 0.05); however, there was no change in CIPS in median [IQR] presurveys versus postsurveys (65.5 [52, 75] versus 64 [52, 75], P = 0.70). Females had higher mean (standard deviation) pre-CIPS than males (68.4 [15.2] versus 61.6 [14.9], P = 0.02). There was no strong correlation between age and CIPS in the presurvey (Spearman Rank Correlation Coefficient [SRCC]: 0.29, P = 0.19) or postsurvey (SRCC: 0.31, P = 0.10). While subjects who worked outside of medicine had a stronger relationship with IS (SRCC: 0.37, P = 0.05), multivariable regression analysis did not reveal any significant differences. CONCLUSIONS: We advocate for surgical boot-camp training courses to improve trainee skill and confidence. As IS is not improved by boot camp, additional research is needed to identify opportunities to improve IS among surgical trainees.

Developing patient-refined colorectal cancer screening materials: application of a virtual community engagement approach.

INTRODUCTION: In partnership with a federally qualified health center (FQHC), an adapted virtual version of boot camp translation (BCT) was used to elicit input from Spanish-speaking Latino patients and staff to develop messaging and patient education materials for follow-up colonoscopy after abnormal fecal testing. We describe how we adapted an existing in-person BCT process to be delivered virtually and present evaluations from participants on the virtual format. METHODS: Three virtual BCT sessions were facilitated by bilingual staff and conducted via Zoom. These sessions included introductions and discussions on colorectal cancer (CRC), CRC screening, and gathered feedback from participants on draft materials. Ten adults were recruited from the FQHC. A research team member from the FQHC served as the point of contact (POC) for all participants and offered Zoom introductory sessions and/or technology support before and during the sessions. Following the third session, participants were invited to complete an evaluation form about their virtual BCT experience. Using a 5-point Likert Scale (where 5 = strongly agree), questions focused on session utility, group comfort level, session pacing, and overall sense of accomplishment. RESULTS: Average scores ranged from 4.3 to 5.0 indicating strong support towards the virtual BCT sessions. Additionally, our study emphasized the importance of a POC to provide technical support to participants throughout the process. Using this approach, we successfully incorporated feedback from participants to design culturally relevant materials to promote follow-up colonoscopy. CONCLUSION: We recommend ongoing public health emphasis on the use of virtual platforms for community engaged work.

The Boot Camp Model in Urology: Preparing PGY1 Urology Interns for Practice.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The purpose of this review is to highlight literature regarding resident boot camps published across surgical specialties with a focus on urology. Herein, we discuss different boot camp iterations, their results, and the integration of simulation into their curriculum. We review program elements such as curriculum, course length, and efficacy as well as areas for continued investigation. RECENT FINDINGS: The field of urology has grown in both the breadth of knowledge and the complexity of procedures. With urology now being an integrated surgical subspecialty, interns often start on the urology service despite limited experience navigating this unique specialty. The boot camp model is one method by which interns and junior residents participate in consolidated training programs to best prepare them for a patient-facing role and the day-to-day demands of residency. Urology programs, both in the USA and abroad, have begun integrating boot camps into their training programs with positive results. Urology boot camps can be a valuable part of training programs for interns to quickly establish medical knowledge, skills, and efficiency. Boot camps should be easily accessible, have sufficient support from institutions, and provide effective training through various methods such as didactics and simulation.

The need for a course to complete urological education for consultant practice using a simulated 'boot camp' structure at the end of specialist training: A survey-based study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: To obtain opinions from urology trainees and consultants regarding the need for, and structure of, a post-specialty training Urology Simulation Boot Camp (USBC) for consultant practice. METHODS AND RESULTS: A survey-based study was conducted, and 'Google Forms' were distributed electronically via social media. Urology specialist trainees (ST) in years 5-7 (ST5-ST7), post-certification of completion of training (CCT) fellows and ST3 boot camp faculty consultants in practice for ≤5 years and >5 years were included. One hundred and seven responses were received. 97.2% of responders thought a pre-consultant USBC was worthwhile; 55.1% selected the course duration to be 2 days. 47.7% felt that the USBC should be delivered post-exam in ST7. 91.6%, 43.9%, 73.8%, 87.9% and 74.8% considered that modules in emergency operative procedures, novel uro-technologies, delivering multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings, non-clinical consultant roles and responsibilities, stress and burnout to be important, respectively. 62.6% and 31.8% felt that the course should be wholly or part-funded by Health Education England (HEE). CONCLUSIONS: A post-specialty training, pre-consultant, USBC delivered post-exam in ST7, is worthwhile and should include modules on emergency operative procedures, leading MDTs, non-clinical roles and responsibilities and managing stress and burnout in consultant careers. Ideally, it should be fully/part-funded by HEE.

Student perception and assessment outcomes using a pilot condensed format ("boot camp") in a Fixed Prosthodontics course.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to assess student perception as well as course outcomes (final written examination grades) when using a pilot condensed format in an undergraduate Fixed Prosthodontics course, which was implemented as a response to the global pandemic of Covid-19. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The course was delivered in a condensed format, with a total of 28 direct contact hours in the Simulation Clinic within a 4 day period. Asynchronous remote learning was employed for the didactic portion of the course. Students completed surveys before and after the course, to assess their perception of the condensed format, and written examination grades were compared with previous years' grades. Data were entered in an Excel database (Microsoft Excel 2016) and analysed using a statistical analysis software program (IBM SPSS Statistics, v26; IBM Corp). The level of significance was set to α = 0.05. RESULTS: Overall, student perception of the condensed format was positive. At the beginning of the course, female students had less confidence in their skills compared to male students (p < .05). Written examination grades were significantly lower compared to previous years' grades (p = .04). CONCLUSION: The use of a condensed format can allow a course to be delivered in smaller student cohorts and provides the ability to reduce the total number of direct contact hours allotted to the course, creating space within the curriculum. Student perception of this format was generally positive. However, written examination scores were negatively impacted, indicating possible knowledge gaps resulting from the condensed course format. More studies are needed to assess the effect of the various curricular modifications that have been implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Oncology boot camp: A preparatory curriculum for advanced pharmacy practice experience students.

INTRODUCTION: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an autonomous oncology boot camp on Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience (APPE) student knowledge. Secondary objectives included assessing student perception of the virtual learning experience and overall comfort level with the material. METHODS: APPE students rotating through our institution between November 2019 and March 2020 were voluntarily enrolled in a 4-hour oncology-focused boot camp, which included five PlayPosit (Denver, CO, USA) interactive video lectures embedded with case-based application questions followed by one comprehensive web-based Quandary (Victoria, BC, Canada) action-maze case. Student learning was measured by a pre- and post-intervention exam. A web survey tool (Qualtrics, Provo, UT, USA) collected student perceptions evaluating their comfort with oncology-specific drug knowledge and APPE rotations tasks. RESULTS: Fifty students enrolled in the oncology boot camp, with 100% completing the pre- and post-intervention assessments. Overall, pre-intervention exam scores (mean: 55.4%, SD: 21.8%) improved by 23.2% following the boot camp (mean: 78.6%, SD: 19.2%; p < 0.001). Students performed better on all 10 exam questions, with 6 questions showing a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05). Forty-five students (90%) completed the perception surveys. Of those, 93% agreed that it effectively reinforced important oncology knowledge, 91% supported the autonomous design, and 82% would recommend the oncology boot camp for future students. CONCLUSION: The boot camp proved to be a beneficial educational tool that enhanced student knowledge and confidence in navigating common oncology concepts. Students valued the ability to independently complete the activities and supported its continuation.

The use of a surgical boot camp combining anatomical education and surgical simulation for internship preparedness among senior medical students.

BACKGROUND: Senior medical students feel unprepared for surgical procedures and care for surgery patients when they begin their internship. This study sought to introduce and evaluate a surgical boot camp training for senior medical students. METHODS: A 44-h surgical boot camp program of lectures on clinical practice simulation, anatomical dissections, and simulated operation on cadavers was designed, implemented, and evaluated during the 2018 to 2019 academic year. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess students' perceptions of the content, delivery, and self-confidence. The mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (mini-CEX) and the Operative Performance Rating System were used to assess skills essential to good clinical care and to facilitate feedback. RESULTS: Over 93% of the students were satisfied with the surgical boot camp, training equipment, and learning materials provided. After six sessions of training, 85.3% reported gaining self-confidence and performed better in some surgical procedures such as major gastrectomy. The mini-CEX scores suggested significant improvement in the students' clinical skills, attitudes, and behaviors (P < 0.01). Ninety-eight percent of students felt that the anatomical knowledge taught met their needs. The scores of the Operative Performance Rating System suggested that the students' surgical skills such as instruments handling, incising, treatment of surrounding tissues (blood vessels, nerves), and smoothness of the whole operation had increased significantly following the surgical boot camp (All P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The surgical boot camp curriculum improved students' satisfaction and confidence in core clinical practice competencies. Therefore, medical schools the world over should continue to seek ways to bridge the gaps between pre-clinical, clinical, and internship training.

Virtual curriculum delivery in the COVID-19 era: the pediatric surgery boot camp v2.0.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the impact of a virtual Pediatric Surgery Bootcamp curriculum on resource utilization, learner engagement, knowledge retention, and stakeholder satisfaction. METHODS: A virtual curriculum was developed around Pediatric Surgery Milestones. GlobalCastMD delivered pre-recorded and live content over a single 10-h day with a concluding social hour. Metrics of learner engagement, faculty interaction, knowledge retention, and satisfaction were collected and analyzed during and after the course. RESULTS: Of 56 PS residencies, 31 registered (55.4%; 8/8 Canadian and 23/48 US; p = 0.006), including 42 learners overall. The virtual BC budget was $15,500 (USD), 54% of the anticipated in-person course. Pre- and post-tests were administered, revealing significant knowledge improvement (48.6% [286/589] vs 66.9% [89/133] p < 0.0002). Learner surveys (n = 14) suggested the virtual BC facilitated fellowship transition (85%) and strengthened peer-group camaraderie (69%), but in-person events were still favored (77%). Program Directors (PD) were surveyed, and respondents (n = 22) also favored in-person events (61%). PDs not registering their learners (n = 7) perceived insufficient value-added and concern for excessive participants. CONCLUSIONS: The virtual bootcamp format reduced overall expenses, interfered less with schedules, achieved more inclusive reach, and facilitated content archiving. Despite these advantages, learners and program directors still favored in-person education. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Online Learning and Echocardiography Boot Camp: Innovative Learning Platforms Promoting Blended Learning and Competency in Pediatric Echocardiography.

Mastering pediatric echocardiography (PE) requires a substantial knowledge base of echo theory and congenital heart disease (CHD), along with technical proficiency. Online self-directed learning has become increasingly utilized among medical trainees to promote competency within medical subspecialties. We sought to evaluate the impact of online learning combined with lecture-based and hands-on teaching on the acquisition of PE knowledge and confidence in pediatric cardiology and pediatric critical care fellows. We prospectively enrolled 124 learners from 2016 to 2019. These included 40 incoming cardiology and critical care fellows at Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) as well as 84 national and international participants recruited from our online echo education website. All participants completed online learning modules through our website ( www.pedecho.org ), which covers pediatric echo physics, Doppler, technique, normal anatomy, atrial septal defects, and ventricular septal defects. TCH cardiology and critical care fellows subsequently participated in an Echo Boot Camp (BC), a 3-day training program with hands-on workshops and didactic lectures. Knowledge was assessed using an 80-question pre and post-test multiple choice exams. The online learning group demonstrated improvement in exam scores following online learning (PRE 49.1 ± 15.3 vs. POST 67.8 ± 17%; p ≤ 0.01). Echo Boot Camp fellows were noted to have further incremental improvement in test scores following BC (PRE 48% ± 13% vs. POST MODULE 68.6% ± 15% vs. POST BC 75.7% ± 13%; p ≤ 0.01). Self-assessment regarding confidence in context areas showed a substantial gain in self perceived interpretive confidence across all groups as well as procedural confidence in BC participants. Online learning significantly promotes the acquisition of echocardiography knowledge. Additional lecture-based and hands-on teaching in the form of an Echo Boot Camp can further enhance knowledge and interpretative skills. Both of these learning platforms appear to work in concert as powerful and effective tools in fellow education.

Null effects of boot camps and short-format training for PhD students in life sciences.

Many PhD programs incorporate boot camps and summer bridge programs to accelerate the development of doctoral students' research skills and acculturation into their respective disciplines. These brief, high-intensity experiences span no more than several weeks and are typically designed to expose graduate students to data analysis techniques, to develop scientific writing skills, and to better embed incoming students into the scholarly community. However, there is no previous study that directly measures the outcomes of PhD students who participate in such programs and compares them to the outcomes of students who did not participate. Likewise, no previous study has used a longitudinal design to assess these outcomes over time. Here we show that participation in such programs is not associated with detectable benefits related to skill development, socialization into the academic community, or scholarly productivity for students in our sample. Analyzing data from 294 PhD students in the life sciences from 53 US institutions, we found no statistically significant differences in outcomes between participants and nonparticipants across 115 variables. These results stand in contrast to prior studies presenting boot camps as effective interventions based on participant satisfaction and perceived value. Many universities and government agencies (e.g., National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation) invest substantial resources in boot camp and summer bridge activities in the hopes of better supporting scientific workforce development. Our findings do not reveal any measurable benefits to students, indicating that an allocation of limited resources to alternative strategies with stronger empirical foundations warrants consideration.

Veterinary Intern Program for Entrustable Professional Activities Skills, a.k.a. Intern Boot Camp.

The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine (UTCVM) Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences has developed an intensive training program that all large animal veterinary interns are required to complete at the onset of their internship year. This program was designed to establish a uniform approach to entrustable professional activity (EPA) skills deemed essential by the large animal faculty. These EPA skills emphasize the clinical approaches and skills that interns should understand and demonstrate competency in early in their internship year. The EPA program, completed over 4 consecutive days, was coined the "Intern Boot Camp" and structured to fuse case-based lecture discussions and hands-on wet labs designed to develop or improve skills and techniques. At the conclusion of the boot camp, participants were given an evaluation survey to provide feedback on the program. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with 90% of the participants giving the program a rating of 5 on a scale ranging from 1 (poor opinion or experience) to 5 (excellent opinion or experience). Nearly 95% of participants stated that they felt more prepared for their internship year after attending the boot camp, and 100% of the participants indicated that they would recommend this program to future candidates. Given the positive outcomes over the past 4 years, the implementation of the Veterinary Intern Entrustable Professional Activities program (Intern Boot Camp) is considered a valuable component of the veterinary intern training program and could readily be adapted to other programs.

The pediatric echocardiography Boot Camp: Four-year experience and impact on clinical performance.

BACKGROUND: We previously reported on the short-term impact of an echocardiography "Boot Camp" on a single class of cardiology fellows (CF). The impact of the Boot Camp on performance throughout fellowship is unknown. METHODS: We enrolled four classes of CFs and two classes of cardiac ICU fellows (CVs) prospectively into the Boot Camp and compared CFs to a historical cohort. Experience with echocardiography was surveyed. Outcome measures included written pre- and post-Camp exams, a performance based test (PBT), self-efficacy assessments, numbers of echocardiograms performed, and echocardiogram quality during the last 3 months of fellowship. RESULTS: A total of 25 CFs and 7 CVs participated in the Boot Camp from July 2012-July 2015. Median experience score was 13/40 (4-23). Median self-efficacy improved from 22/147 (range 21-45) to 90/147 (range 49-133) (P=<.001), and written scores from 14/29 (8-24) to 24/29 (13-29) (P<.001). CFs who completed the Boot Camp performed more independent echocardiograms compared to controls at the end of the 1st (37.7±12.2 vs 28.2±12.1, P=.15), 2nd (71.3±24.4 vs 47.6±16.0, P=.044), and third year of fellowship (130.4±44.0 vs 100.0±29.3, P=.230), and on average achieved 150 total echocardiograms in the 4.8th quarter compared to the 7.8th quarter in controls, P=.053. 2D quality scores were higher and shortening fraction more often obtained in echocardiograms performed by Boot Camp CFs compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: The pediatric echocardiography Boot Camp improved self-efficacy, acquisition, and retention of echocardiography skills and knowledge, and increased echocardiogram performance. Observed differences between Boot Camp and control CFs appear to wane across fellowship.

A Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Boot Camp improves trainee confidence.

Introduction New paediatric cardiology trainees are required to rapidly assimilate knowledge and gain clinical skills to which they have limited or no exposure during residency. The Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Boot Camp (PCBC) at Boston Children's Hospital was designed to provide incoming fellows with an intensive exposure to congenital cardiac pathology and a broad overview of major areas of paediatric cardiology practice. METHODS: The PCBC curriculum was designed by core faculty in cardiac pathology, echocardiography, electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, exercise physiology, and cardiac intensive care. Individual faculty contributed learning objectives, which were refined by fellowship directors and used to build a programme of didactics, hands-on/simulation-based activities, and self-guided learning opportunities. RESULTS: A total of 16 incoming fellows participated in the 4-week boot camp, with no concurrent clinical responsibilities, over 2 years. On the basis of pre- and post-PCBC surveys, 80% of trainees strongly agreed that they felt more prepared for clinical responsibilities, and a similar percentage felt that PCBC should be offered to future incoming fellows. Fellows showed significant increase in their confidence in all specific knowledge and skills related to the learning objectives. Fellows rated hands-on learning experiences and simulation-based exercises most highly. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a novel 4-week-long boot camp designed to expose incoming paediatric cardiology fellows to the broad spectrum of knowledge and skills required for the practice of paediatric cardiology. The experience increased trainee confidence and sense of preparedness to begin fellowship-related responsibilities. Given that highly interactive activities were rated most highly, boot camps in paediatric cardiology should strongly emphasise these elements.

Information and Communication Technology: Design, Delivery, and Outcomes from a Nursing Informatics Boot Camp

Information and communication technology (ICT) is integral in today's healthcare as a critical piece of support to both track and improve patient and organizational outcomes. Facilitating nurses' informatics competency development through continuing education is paramount to enhance their readiness to practice safely and accurately in technologically enabled work environments. In this article, we briefly describe progress in nursing informatics (NI) and share a project exemplar that describes our experience in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a NI educational event, a one-day boot camp format that was used to provide foundational knowledge in NI targeted primarily at frontline nurses in Alberta, Canada. We also discuss the project outcomes, including lessons learned and future implications. Overall, the boot camp was successful to raise nurses' awareness about the importance of informatics in nursing practice.

Development of a residents' needs assessment-based novel pathology residency boot camp designed on the graduated release of responsibility model.

Boot camps in medical education have emerged as effective tools for addressing knowledge gaps and facilitating the integration of incoming residents into clinical training. We developed a pathology boot camp designed on a needs assessment survey, the graduated release of responsibility model, and active involvement of senior residents as educators. A comprehensive survey was administered to current first-year residents to assess educational needs to identify significant knowledge gaps and difficult areas. Based on these findings, a four-week, three-phase curriculum was developed, comprising introductory didactics, hands-on training, and mentorship under senior residents. Pre- and post-tests, as well as resident surveys, were used to evaluate the efficacy of the boot camp curriculum. Senior residents unanimously expressed the need for a boot camp, expressing challenges in histology, workflow, autopsy, and laboratory operations. Pre- and post-boot camp assessment tests showed a 15% knowledge improvement. Most pathology programs across the country have implemented structured pathology boot camps. The strengths of our boot camp included the emphasis on the previous year's residents' feedback, and the challenges that they encountered, serving as a comparison group; a graduated release of responsibility model; and the involvement of senior residents as designated mentors for the duration of the boot camp. The pathology boot camp presented here serves as a promising model for addressing foundational knowledge deficits among incoming residents. By tailoring the curriculum to meet specific educational needs and leveraging senior residents as educators, institutions can better prepare residents for the challenges of clinical training.

Neurosurgery training camp for medical student: experience of the Turkish neurosugery academy and Bursa Uludag University.

Introduction: To highlight the importance of hands-on experiences and mentorship in shaping the future workforce of specialized medical professionals via a Neurosurgery Training Camp. Methods: Responses of the questionnaire regarding the Neurosurgery Training Camp organized by Bursa Uludag University's Faculty of Medicine and the Turkish Neurosurgery Academy were reviewed retrospectively. A one-day program was organized to introduce neurosurgery to medical students. During the camp, the students participated in interactive presentations delivered by faculty members, had lunch together, became acquainted with neurosurgical tools and technologies, and performed interventions. With pre and postworkshop questionnaire, student's expectations and thoughts about camp was evaluated. Results: Forty-one students from 10 medical schools, spanning every year of study, attended the camp. Approximately 39% of the attendees (n = 16) were women and 61% (n = 25) were men. The post-workshop survey results demonstrated that 73% of the students (n = 30) were inclined to pursue a career in neurosurgery after the camp, 21.9% (n = 9) remained undecided, and 4.8% (n = 2) chose not to pursue neurosurgery. Feedback from the post-workshop questionnaire highlighted that all students perceived the camp as beneficial in providing insights into their future careers and aiding in making a decision regarding their career paths. Discussion: The neurosurgical training camp effectively inspired and educated medical students about the discipline of neurosurgery. Furthermore, the camp effectively altered the career aspirations and perceptions of neurosurgery among the participating students.

A Capstone Course for Senior Medical Students: from Innovative Elective to Required Core Curriculum.

We describe our institution's development and implementation of our Capstone course from a small elective course to the only required fourth-year course. The course's structure evolved from mostly didactic to one including various workshops and simulation sessions. Course content has become increasingly specialty-specific. Implementation requires high faculty and resident involvement. Evaluations indicate a positive impact of the course on participants' self-reported confidence and residency preparedness. Assessment remains pass/fail with more specialty-specific questions. As steadily increasing numbers of medical schools are developing transition to residency courses, we share our Capstone course's evolution and lessons learned over the past nine years. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-023-01880-2.

One-week radiology boot camp for pre-clerkship medical students: A novel format improving image interpretation and confidence.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To measure change in radiology knowledge, confidence in radiology skills, and perceptions pertaining to radiology following a one-week boot camp elective for undergraduate medical students. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A five-day comprehensive radiology boot camp was developed including sessions on image interpretation, procedural skills, and appropriate image ordering. A multiple-choice quiz was administered before and after the elective, utilizing radiology questions from the validated AMSER STARS database. Additionally, a pre- and post-elective survey was administered assessing radiology career interest, confidence in radiology-based skills, and the potential ability of radiology-based skills to increase confidence in specialties other than radiology. Responses from the assessments were analysed using paired t-tests. RESULTS: 15 students enrolled in the course and 14 completed all assessments. The average score on the quiz increased from 50.1% to 66.0% (p<0.001). On the post-elective survey, the average student confidence score increased by more than one point on a six-point Likert scale in each of radiographic interpretation (p=0.004), ultrasound interpretation (p=0.0002), CT/MRI interpretation (p=0.02), general radiology knowledge including procedural skills (p=0.0001), and appropriate image ordering (p=0.004). Average student satisfaction with the elective was 8.1 out of 10. CONCLUSION: A one-week radiology boot camp for pre-clerkship medical students improved radiology knowledge and confidence in radiology skills, showing potential for this format to meet the demand for increased radiology content in undergraduate training. Students indicated that confidence in radiology knowledge would increase confidence on non-radiology clerkship rotations, highlighting the importance of how a one-week radiology bootcamp can impact both future radiology and non-radiology clerkship experiences.

Introducing a novel hybrid educational boot camp to augment medical student training in neurosurgery.

OBJECTIVE: Neurosurgery subinternships are a critical portion of the medical student application to neurosurgery residency programs, allowing programs to assess the student's clinical knowledge, interpersonal skills, work ethic, and character. Despite how critical these auditions are, many students have a poor understanding of expectations prior to beginning these subinternships. Thomas Jefferson University hosted a combined in-person and virtual boot camp session open to all medical students interested in neurosurgery. The authors sought to determine the effectiveness of this inaugural course. METHODS: A total of 304 registered participants were sent a survey assessing their attitudes toward neurosurgery subinternships, beliefs about their abilities, and their comfort with various neurosurgical skills. All participants were sent a postsession survey composed of the same questions. The mean scores for responses to pre- and postsession survey questions were recorded based on graduating year and by medical school type (US allopathic [US MD], US osteopathic [US DO], or foreign degree/international medical graduate [IMG]). Differences in means between pre- and postsession survey responses were analyzed using the Student t-test, and statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: A total of 112 presession surveys and 64 postsession surveys were completed, yielding a presession survey response rate of 36.8% and a postsession survey response rate of 21.1%. Seventy-five percent of the postsession survey respondents attended virtually, and 25% were in-person. US MD, US DO, and IMG attendees demonstrated a significantly increased understanding of the expectations of a neurosurgery subintern (p < 0.001). All students had significantly increased confidence in their ability to succeed as subinterns (US MD students and IMGs p < 0.001, US DO students p < 0.05). Regarding procedural confidence, US MD students had increased confidence in craniotomies and cranial plating (p < 0.001). When comparing responses by graduation year, students in the classes of 2024 and 2025 (rising 4th-year and rising 3rd-year medical students, respectively) demonstrated significantly increased understanding of expectations and confidence in their ability to succeed (< 0.001). Seventy-five percent of our postsession survey respondents attended virtually, and 25% were in-person. The in-person cohort had greater improvements in comfort with procedures such as craniotomies, cranial plating, and extraventricular drain placement (in-person vs Zoom mean differences: craniotomies and cranial plating, -2.29, extraventricular drain placement, -2.31) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The boot camp successfully delineated the expectations of neurosurgery subinterns and enhanced the attendees' confidence in their abilities. The authors concluded that a hybrid virtual and in-person format is beneficial and feasible in increasing accessibility to information about neurosurgery subinternships.

Profiling injuries sustained following implementation of a progressive load carriage program in United States marine corps recruit training.

BACKGROUND: Load carriage tasks during United States Marine Corps (USMC) recruit training can cause injury. Load carriage conditioning, if optimized, can reduce injury risk. OBJECTIVE: To compare injuries sustained by USMC recruits following participation in either the Original Load Carriage (OLC) program or a Modified Load Carriage (MLC) program. METHODS: Retrospective musculoskeletal injury data were drawn from the USMC San Diego Sports Medicine injury database for recruits completing the OLC (n = 2,363) and MLC (n = 681) programs. Data were expressed as descriptive statistics and a population estimate of the OLC:MLC relative risk ratio (RR) was calculated. RESULTS: The proportion of injuries sustained in the MLC cohort (n = 268; 39% : OLC cohort, n = 1,372 : 58%) was lower, as was the RR (0.68, 95% CI 0.61- 0.75). The leading nature of injury for both cohorts was sprains and strains (OLC n = 396, 29%; MLC n = 66; 25%). Stress reactions were proportionally higher in MLC (n = 17, 6%; OLC n = 4, 0.3%), while stress fractures were proportionately lower (MLC n = 9, 3%; OLC n = 114, 8%). Overuse injuries were lower in MLC (- 7%). The knee, lower leg, ankle, and foot were the top four bodily sites of injuries and the Small Unit Leadership Evaluation (SULE), Crucible, overuse-nonspecific, running, and conditioning hikes were within the top five most common events causing injury. The prevalence rates of moderate severity injury were similar (MLC = 23%; OLC = 24%), although MLC presented both a higher proportion and prevalence of severe injuries (MLC = 6%; OLC = 3%, respectively). CONCLUSION: A periodized load carriage program concurrently increased exposure to load carriage hikes while reducing injuries both during the load carriage hikes and overall.