Medical student electives in general surgical subspecialties.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the study was to evaluate how well the burn, trauma, and peripheral vascular third-year medical school electives meet the objectives of the six ACGME core competencies. METHODS: Medical school graduates from 1999 to 2002 completed a survey that consisted of 13 demographic/miscellaneous questions, and 28 core competency questions. RESULTS: In all, 168 of 500 students responded for a 34% response rate. All three general surgical electives ranked above average in meeting objectives in the areas of: basic science, performing complete histories and physicals, writing logical and legible notes, creating complete assessments and plan, making decisions with evidence based medicine, performing basic procedures, interpreting test results, and maintaining professional attitudes. The burn elective ranked significantly higher in 16 of 28 objectives (P < 0.05) and the trauma elective ranked significantly higher in two of 28 objectives (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Despite a narrower professional focus, three general surgical subspecialty electives meet objectives in five of the six competencies set forth by the ACGME (and adopted by our medical school as objectives for the ideal graduate). The highly organized and structured burn elective can be used as a template for improving all surgical rotations to meet the six core competencies for third-year students.