The Fundamentals of Communication in Surgery

NCT ID: NCT06654310

Last Updated: 2025-09-30

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION
• Total Enrollment: 600 participants
• Study Classification: OBSERVATIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-09-16
• Study Completion Date: 2027-07-01

Brief Summary

The goal of this observational study is to evaluate the impact of the FCS curriculum on achieving the learning objectives and resident reported self-efficacy with communication skills and determine the scalability of the training across a range of general surgery training programs

Detailed Description

The researchers have developed a 5-year curriculum for surgical trainees called the Fundamentals of Communication in Surgery (FCS). The training includes core communication skills, e.g., expressing empathy, and frameworks to support informed consent and serious illness conversations, specifically Best Case/Worst Case and Better Conversations. The curriculum provides one developmentally appropriate two-hour session for each of the five years of surgical training. Because the training is skills based (e.g., scenario planning) and not procedure based (e.g., goals of care conversations) exercises are focused on specific techniques that build over subsequent sessions.

Researchers will invite 1-3 surgical attendings per site with an interest in surgical education to serve as trainers for the FCS curriculum.

All general surgery trainees at each institution will have access to the training program as part of their regularly scheduled educational curriculum, regardless of training year or status as a categorical resident. If there is interest, researchers will provide access to the curriculum to fellows and residents in affiliated programs, e.g., plastic surgery.

Researchers will invite site personnel who have roles related to surgical education including the program director and associate program director (if applicable), 2 to 3 attending surgeons who have high contact with residents in urgent care settings (e.g., emergency general surgery), 1 to 2 members of the education coordination team.

Conditions

Communication Research; Communication Programs

Study Design

• Observational Model Type: CASE_ONLY
• Study Time Perspective: PROSPECTIVE

Study Groups

Learners

All general surgery trainees at each institution will have access to the training program as part of their regularly scheduled educational curriculum, regardless of training year or status as a categorical resident.

Delivery of FCS Skills Curriculum

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The UW study team will conduct two 2-hour train-the-trainer sessions with all surgical attendings who have committed to participation as a trainer in the FCS curriculum. The designated trainer will deliver each 2-hour session during the existing formal educational time for residents. If existing protected educational time will not allow for a 2-hour training session, the sessions can be delivered in two 1-hour sessions. These sessions will be incorporated into the curriculum similar to all other formal training provided to residents with the same expectations to attend.

Each 2-hour FCS session starts with a 30-minute exercise in empathic communication. The remaining 90 minutes are devoted to skills that support decision making about surgery.

Interventions

Delivery of FCS Skills Curriculum

The UW study team will conduct two 2-hour train-the-trainer sessions with all surgical attendings who have committed to participation as a trainer in the FCS curriculum. The designated trainer will deliver each 2-hour session during the existing formal educational time for residents. If existing protected educational time will not allow for a 2-hour training session, the sessions can be delivered in two 1-hour sessions. These sessions will be incorporated into the curriculum similar to all other formal training provided to residents with the same expectations to attend.

Each 2-hour FCS session starts with a 30-minute exercise in empathic communication. The remaining 90 minutes are devoted to skills that support decision making about surgery.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• surgical attendings with an interest in surgical education
• surgery trainees

Exclusion Criteria

• none

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Oklahoma

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Pittsburgh

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of South Florida

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

West Virginia University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Duke University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Association for Academic Surgery

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Inova Fairfax Medical Campus

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Wisconsin, Madison

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Margaret (Gretchen) L Schwarze, MD, MPP

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Locations

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

A539750

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

2024-0620

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id