Surgery Curriculum and Evaluation

 

Training
 

The training takes a minimum of 4 years to complete. At the end of each year before advancing to the next level the resident must pass a written examination prepared by the PAACS. The examination is based on "Principles of Surgery," by Seymour Schwartz.

 

A surgical library with a wide selection of textbooks and a computer learning center is available at each participating hospital. In addition to assigned reading, the resident must prepare a formal written or oral case report to present to his Program Director for evaluation and discussion.

 

The resident will learn to perform increasing complex surgery under the close supervision of the Program Director and other experienced surgeons, and will keep a log of all the procedures he or she has performed or first-assisted.

Other learning opportunities include supervised and un-supervised patient rounds, pre-operative and post-operative care, night and week-end call on a rotating schedule, and rotations at other PAACS-approved hospitals for two to four months at a time to broaden the resident's surgical experience. 

 

Evaluation

The evaluation mechanism follows a standard multi-modality mechanism. Trainees are responsible for weekly oral and/or written case presentations or quarterly research projects. Every six months as well as at the end of each specialty rotation they are evaluated clinically in all domains. Finally, trainees write a comprehensive multiple-choice question exam yearly, with the same exam content ministered to all levels of residents ("progress testing").

 

A certificate of attendance is awarded yearly to successful residents. At the end of the four years, successful trainees receive a diploma, awarded jointly by the PAACS, the Christian Medical Association, and Loma Linda University.

An application process and procedure is underway that, if successful, will enable and qualify PAACS residents who have successfully completed all PAACS requirements to sit for the College of Surgeons of East Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) examinations and for the West African College of Surgeons (WACS).