The Use of Silicone Simulators for Bile Duct Anastomosis Education in Medical Conferences for the Purpose of Improving the Canadian Medical Education Directives for Specialists (CanMEDS) Competencies.

This technical report explores the potential of including silicone bile duct simulators for the purpose of completing a bile duct anastomosis (BDA) in medical conferences. The purpose is to target the need for exposure to more surgical skills and to contribute to the Canadian Medical Education Directives for Specialists (CanMEDS) requirements, as per the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.  Data collection was completed at the 2023 Canadian Conference for the Advancement of Surgical Education (C-CASE) in Montreal, Canada. For several years, the quality improvement feedback received at the end of these conferences suggested a few areas of improvement, one of which was related to the concept of return on investment (ROI). The participants spend a considerable amount of funds to travel to the conferences but feel that the only measurable gains are at a research capacity and thus only relate to two CanMEDS competencies. By leveraging C-CASE, the aim is to enhance students' educational experience during events they already intend to attend. Initially, students participated in a five-part simulation workshop and engaged in a think-aloud protocol (TAO). From there, nine participants were recruited for a focus group to further understand the perceived educational value and feedback on both the simulators and the conference structure.