The Plastic Surgery Learning Module: Improving Plastic Surgery Education for Medical Students

Background: Medical students receive limited exposure to the field of plastic surgery because most students will not rotate in plastic surgery, especially those at schools without dedicated plastic surgery residency programs. This study aimed to create and validate a plastic surgery learning module for medical students to dispel media-propagated myths and misrepresentation of the breadth of plastic surgery and equip students with referral-making capabilities. Methods: The plastic surgery learning module was created using Articulate Storyline 360 (New York, N.Y.). Student participants were recruited from a single medical school across all four classes. Pre- and postmodule surveys were administered via Qualtrics (Provo, Utah). Scores were computed for the general surgical knowledge section and for each specialty referral question. Results: Twelve students completed usability testing and edits were subsequently made to optimize the module. The module took on average 66 minutes to complete. Sixty-five students (19 MS1, 16 MS2, 15 MS3, 15 MS4) completed efficacy testing.