Relationship Between the Success Rate of Completion of a Neurosurgical Model Experiment and the Specialty Preferences and Hobbies of a Group of Medical Students

Introduction: This study explored the relationship between self-reported interest in medical vs. surgical specialty as a career and the persistence and success in completing valve-catheter connection exercise borrowed from one of the most common neurosurgical procedures, the ventriculoperitoneal shunt among medical students.

Methods: An untrained cohort of medical students were invited to participate in a hands-on surgical valve-catheter connection exercise. 58% received coaching from a senior neurosurgical resident on connecting a catheter to a valve; the rest were shown a connected valve-catheter apparatus and asked to duplicate the result. No limit was placed on the number or duration of attempts. Trials were video recorded and analyzed by the research team.

Results: A total of 15 students participated in the experiment, with 73% expressing interest in a surgical specialty on an anonymous survey. 60% had prior medical experience, including medical assistance and research work; none was in a hands-on medical position. The group interested in the surgical specialties had a higher number of attempts and successes (10 vs. 7.2 and 68% vs. 38%, p=0.047, respectively). Furthermore, the surgical specialty group spent more time on both successful and failed attempts vs. the medical group (29 vs. 20 seconds and 89 vs. 51 seconds, respectively).

Conclusion : Students with a self-expressed interest in surgical specialties demonstrated higher perseverance in completing the task, likely contributing to a higher overall success rate. These results can help inform the development of learning modules that optimize student engagement among medical students.