Livestream surgeries enhance preclinical medical students\u27 exposure to surgical specialties

Mentorship, experience, and early exposure are key contributors to how medical students decide whether to pursue surgical training. We designed a series of livestream surgeries to provide preclinical (first and second year) medical students with early exposure to six surgical specialties and facilitate mentorship with faculty. Students were surveyed before and after the livestream sessions. Seventeen students completed the post-session survey. On a 5-point scale (1 = \u27Not Educational at All\u27; 5 = \u27Very Educational\u27), average rating of interactions with the facilitating surgeon was significantly higher than with the operating surgeon (4.9 ± 0.3 vs. 4.2 ± 1.1, respectively, p = 0.013). Majority (94%) indicated that the livestream series increased their interest in surgery. This novel course engaged preclinical medical students in surgical education and provided exposure to a breadth of specialties. Dedicated facilitators enhanced students\u27 learning experience, and the series positively impacted students\u27 interest in surgical fields. Future efforts will expand the series to other hospitals and surgical specialties. Keywords: Livestream; Preclinical medical education; Surgical education; Surgical specialties; Virtual