PS3-09: CHIEF ACADEMY: FORMALIZED LEADERSHIP CURRICULUM FOR SENIOR SURGICAL RESIDENTS
Natalie A O'Neill, MD, Nikhil K Prasad, MB, ChB, Jose J Diaz, MD; University of Maryland

Introduction: Senior surgical residents are expected to lead a team of students, junior residents, and advanced practice providers (APP) through all aspects of daily patient care, which is often done without any formalized education on leadership. Over several years, we have developed a structured leadership curriculum for senior surgical residents, and here we sought to determine its impacts on residents’ perceptions of their own leadership skills.

Methods: The study was conducted with senior surgical residents (PGY3-5) at an academic, tertiary institution. Satisfactory completion of Chief Academy required attendance of 5 sessions (13 total hours) spaced over the first 8 weeks of the academic year. The core topics included delegation, accountability, conflict resolution, structured feedback, constructive criticism, era of non-physician providers, fellowship preparation, and chief residents as teachers and mentors. All participants completed surveys before and 6 weeks after completion of Chief Academy, and scores were compared using Fisher exact test.

Results: Survey completion rate was 85% (n=17/20 eligible residents). Responses did not significantly differ by PGY year. A majority (80-95%) of residents agreed or strongly agreed with the statements, “I am a leader,” “I work well with APPs on my surgical team,” and statements regarding comfort in acting as a mentor and teacher to students and junior residents, which all increased to 100% agreement on the post-Chief Academy survey. While nearly all residents felt they could identify areas needing organizational changes prior to Chief Academy, significantly more residents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “I am able to implement system/organizational changes to improve patient care,” after completion of Chief Academy (88%) compared to prior to the start of Chief Academy (50%, p=0.02).

Conclusion: A formalized leadership curriculum delivered at the beginning of the academic year may help senior surgical residents’ transition into leadership roles and foster a learning environment that supports identifying and implementing changes to improve health care systems and organizations, hence promoting the next generation of academic surgical leaders and teachers.