After nearly four years of medical school, students at KU School of Medicine-Wichita have read textbooks, attended lectures, completed clinical rotations, discussed patient cases, studied countless hours and more. With about a month to go before they start residency training, some may still feel a little wobbly regarding procedures and patient interaction, but there’s help.

Kelly Winter, M.D., who was a fourth-year student in 2017 and graduated from the KU School of Medicine-Wichita General Surgery Residency Program in 2022, started a course in 2019 to teach skills that any resident could use and, simultaneously, boost confidence of those entering a surgical or surgical-related residency. Research has shown that a surgical prep course taken prior to residency can potentially make the transition smoother.

From April 24 to May 5, former participants and current surgery residents Grace Winter, M.D., and Todd Savolt, M.D., co-led the boot camp, the name by which it’s fondly referred. Savolt helped coordinate the schedule with the attendings and taught several workshops, including central line placement. He will oversee the course next year.

Covering a broad expanse of topics, the course primarily occurs in the Surgical Skills Lab at Ascension Via Christi St. Francis. Workshops also take place in the cadaver lab at Newman University and in the Simulation Center at KU School of Medicine-Wichita.

Winter began helping with the course in 2020 and took over the lead role in 2022.

“We have pharmacy-led lectures that cover things like electrolyte replacement, anticoagulation and reversals, and pressor and sedation management,” said Winter. “Other sessions are led by hospital staff from respiratory therapy.”

Lectures pertaining to patient care are led by surgery attendings and residents.

“One of the favorite aspects of the course is the mock pages that fellow surgery residents send to course participants,” said Winter. “This may be one of the most beneficial aspects of the course as it forces the students to think on their feet about common issues our patients have regarding surgery.”

Kyle Harris, who was a fourth-year medical student, agreed. He will be entering the KU School of Medicine-Wichita General Surgery Residency Program.

“It was extremely valuable to be put on the spot to make patient care decisions at random times throughout the day,” explained Harris. “This was something I had obviously not been exposed to in medical school and I think it helped me make a large amount of progress in my decision-making capability and critical thinking.”

Another participant, Tiffany Killblane, who completed her fourth year and will be starting her general surgery residency at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, said that pages are one of the most anxiety-inducing unknowns of starting residency.

“Mock pages helped alleviate the fear of suddenly being asked to make decisions about the care of someone else,” she said.

Harris also enjoyed the surgery Olympics, competing in different surgical skills such as laparoscopic technique and knot tying.

“I looked at the focused lectures and workshops as an opportunity to absorb as much information as I could from people who had been in my shoes and wanted to help me be the best intern I could in the coming months,” Killblane said. “Everyone was invested in us.”

Winter said she continues to find the course important because it encourages them to begin thinking like a resident and teaches them different aspects of patient care, as no real patients are affected during the course.

“While it doesn't teach them everything they will need to know for residency,” explained Winter, “it does give them a starting point so they can attempt to address issues before escalating it to their senior resident or attending. Knowing how to do these common tasks builds confidence for when they must make more difficult decisions.”

Participants — five to seven in each course — are asked to give feedback such as how the course can be improved, if there are any sessions that should be eliminated because they are not found to be helpful, and which sessions should continue to be included.

“I definitely benefitted from the pharmacy lectures,” said Killblane. “The pharmacists are such knowledge banks and incredibly helpful on things like dosing and orders.”

She added that the leadership was flexible and willing to workshop anything that wasn’t covered if there were resources available. It’s an elective she has been recommending to everyone who she knew was applying to surgery or a related field next year.

All instructors volunteer their time as the course functions on a minimal budget. If that budget could increase, Winter would suggest purchasing additional suture kits that students could keep, which cost about $40-50 each, or additional procedure kits, which cost about $80-100 each, for techniques like chest tube or central line insertions.

Winter appreciates the people who have helped keep the course going each year by volunteering their time and skills to teach a new generation of surgeons.

“This course demonstrates quite well how multidisciplinary teams take better care of patients and create better, more well-rounded surgeons.”

If you would like to make a gift to enhance the surgery boot camp experience, contact Brad Rukes, KU Endowment development director for the Wichita campus, at 316-293-2641 or brukes@kuendowment.org.

Above, left: Medical students participate in the knot tying portion of the surgery Olympics.