Pediatric Surgery in Undergraduate Curriculum: a Survey

Pediatric surgical topics are not generally covered in undergraduate (UG) curriculum in India. However, incorporating pediatric surgery in UG curriculum will help in improving the total surgical care of infants and children, and will also motivate students to choose pediatric surgery as a career option. The purpose of the study was to identify the main objectives of pediatric surgery in UG curriculum and to evaluate the input of specialist, non-specialist, and students to these objectives. The survey was conducted among various stakeholders in three medical colleges in the state using a pre-designed questionnaire to identify the needs to incorporate pediatric surgery in UG curriculum. Twenty-five common topics of pediatric surgery were enlisted for the survey. All the topics were considered essential by pediatric surgeons and pediatricians, whereas general surgeons regarded 21 and general practitioners had identified 16 as essential (mean score > 2.0). The UG and post graduate medical students and interns considered all the items as essential. The study laid emphasis for having a unified, standardized pediatric surgery curriculum in the undergraduate teaching program.