Development and Delivery of a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Case-Based Learning Curriculum for Pre-Clerkship Medical Students.

INTRODUCTION

Canadian medical students receive limited exposure to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) during pre-clerkship. To address this gap, a longitudinal PRS case-based learning (PRS-CBL) curriculum was developed to parallel the pre-clerkship curriculum, with an aim to increase early exposure to PRS concepts.

METHODS

Guided by Medical Council of Canada objectives, PRS faculty and residents co-designed a 5-part case-based learning curriculum: Introduction to PRS, Skin and Soft Tissue Infections, Benign and Malignant Skin Lesions, Hand and Wrist Trauma, and Burns. Each session combined a didactic presentation, clinical case with facilitated discussion, and hands-on workshop. Eligible participants were first- and second-year medical students. Presession and postsession tests were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Written feedback was analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

From 2023 to 2025, 10 PRS-CBL sessions were delivered, with a mean of 45 (SD 28.8) registrants per session. Of 453 total registrants, 201 were unique participants, with 41% reporting no prior interest in PRS. Significant improvements in presession versus postsession test scores were observed at each session (p < .05), except for session 4. Over 83% of respondents strongly agreed that the learning objectives were met, content was appropriate, and sessions were highly effective. Qualitative themes highlighted the value of hands-on, multimodal teaching and opportunities to interact with PRS faculty and residents.

CONCLUSION

The PRS-CBL curriculum filled a void in the current undergraduate medical curriculum, improved PRS knowledge, received favorable evaluations, and included students without prior interest in PRS. This adaptable model may support early career exploration in PRS and other underrepresented specialties.