Determining Learning Styles for Surgical Residents in Training for Microsurgery

Abstract

Introduction: Identifying students’ learning styles facilitates the creation of new knowledge as part of pedagogical processes. However, there is no single way to learn that corresponds to the mental processes of each student, which allows for the implementation of different strategies. One such strategy involves simulated environments where experiential learning strengthens these processes. Our goal was to identify the learning styles of surgical residency students enrolled in the Simulation Laboratory for the subject of Microsurgery.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, and double-blind study included 32 students from 7 surgical specialties. Each participant was assigned a 40-question format (CAMEA-40), corresponding to an adapted questionnaire to monitor learning styles divided into four groups: active, reflective, pragmatic, and theoretical; to identify learning profiles.
Results: The learning styles of the students were identified as the primary trend: theoretical, with 62%; reflective, with 27%; pragmatic, with 11%; and active, with 0%. As a secondary trend, the reflective style predominated, with 35%; theoretical, with 34%; pragmatic, with 23%; and lastly, active, with 8%.
Conclusions: The most prevalent learning style was theoretical. With this, teaching didactics become fundamental tools to create impactful scenarios and thus optimize the teaching-learning processes. This style is based on directing practical actions and guiding strategies that facilitate the student’s construction of concepts and the achievement of solid and enduring learning.