DESCRIPTION AND EVALUATION OF THE SURGEONS AS EDUCATORS COURSE

BACKGROUND: Since 1993, the American College of Surgeons has sponsored an annual 6-day course entitled the Surgeons as Educators, The course was designed to provide academic surgeons with the knowledge and skil ls necessary to enhance the surgical education curriculum, teaching st rategies, educational program administration, and performance evaluati on, This article describes the development, implementation, and effect of the course on the classes graduating in 1993 and 1994. STUDY DESIG N: The effect of the course was studied by using a longitudinal survey approach, A survey was mailed to participants 3 to 6 months after the y completed the course, Graduates were asked to describe any education -related actions taken attributable to attending the Surgeons as Educa tors course, The quality of course content and presentations were eval uated by using end-of-course evaluation forms and daily feedback forms and by an external reviewer. RESULTS: Within 6 months of returning fr om the course, more than one half of the graduates initiated actions r elated to curriculum development, teaching strategies, or educational administration, One third or more of the graduates modified their perf ormance and program evaluation systems, Using a five-point scale, rati ng's of the course content ranged from 3.78 to 4.64 for ''value of top ic'' and from 3.77 to 4.76 for ''quality of presentation.'' Items eval uated by the graduates on the end-of-course evaluation forms ranged fr om 7.8 to 8.7 on a nine-point scale. CONCLUSIONS: The Surgeons as Educ ators course offered an opportunity for participants to interact among themselves and with course faculty about educational issues and to pr actice teaching skills, The course was highly rated for educational qu ality and value, The retreat environment and the length of the program helped attendees become immersed during this ''protected time'' to an alyze strengths and weaknesses of their programs and devise achievable plans to improve their abilities as educators and the effectiveness o f their programs.