The American College of Surgeons Division of Education collaborated with leading surgical educators to produce high-quality educational resources for medical students, surgery residents and educators from the first year of medical school through the completion of their formal training as residents.
This is an overview of the educational resources available for students and residents, with links to learn more detailed information including how to access the materials.
ACS/ASE Medical Student Simulation-Based Surgical Skills Curriculum
The ACS/ASE Medical Student Simulation-Based Surgical Skills Curriculum provides training materials that use simulation and simulators to help medical students learn essential clinical skills that are relevant for all physicians. The modules range from knot-tying and suturing to inserting a central venous line with ultrasound guidance, organized based on the year during which they are most commonly taught to medical students.
ACS/ASE Medical Student Core Curriculum
The ACS/ASE Medical Student Core Curriculum teaches essential cognitive concepts needed by all medical students, not those just pursuing surgery. This curriculum provides the foundation for core surgical knowledge taught to medical students during the surgical clerkship and is available online to all medical students and educators.
ACS/APDS/ASE Resident Prep Curriculum
The ACS/APDS/ASE Resident Prep Curriculum is a modular preparatory curriculum to ensure that graduating students have a solid footing of the skills and knowledge to successfully step into surgical residency. These materials are provided to faculty for use in the “boot camp” at their medical school.
ACS/APDS Surgery Resident Skills Curriculum
The ACS/APDS Surgery Resident Skills Curriculum includes 41 modules organized into three phases to teach surgical skills to residents, ranging from basic surgical skills to advanced procedures as well as team-based skills. The curriculum includes instructions for simulating procedures, self-paced modules and assessments for resident performance.
ACS Fundamentals of Surgery Curriculum®
The ACS Fundamentals of Surgery Curriculum® (ACS FSC) is a highly interactive, case-based, online curriculum that addresses the essential content areas that all surgical residents need to master in the early years of training. The ACS FSC, sold to medical residency programs for distribution to their first-year residents, includes over 108 case-based scenarios in which residents learn to recognize symptoms and signs, order appropriate tests and procedures, evaluate data, and initiate appropriate actions.
ACS Cognitive Simulations: Cases Essential to Surgical Practice
The ACS Cognitive Simulations: Cases Essential to Surgical Practice uses the proven educational methods of the ACS Fundamentals of Surgery Curriculum® to teach PGY-3+ surgical residents how to approach complex decision-making and management of surgical problems. As residents navigate these cases from preoperative assessment to perioperative care and management, including complications, they are given feedback for each choice they make to reinforce learning. ACS CogSim is sold to residency programs for distribution to their residents and allows programs to monitor progress.
