Clinical Research Directory

Medical students with no prior formal experience in surgical suturing are randomly assigned to practice on one of five training materials using computer-generated randomisation: silicone pad, porcine skin, chicken tissue, banana peel or orange peel (study arm). All participants attend a lecture led by an experienced surgeon (academic teacher). After this, in Round 1, they practise suturing using a standardised protocol, supervised by experienced surgeons (four per group). In Round 2, trainees from all groups (silicone, porcine, chicken, banana, and orange) perform suturing on silicone pads (standardised material exposure, control arm). A pre-specified random subsample from each Round 1 arm are invited to Round 2 due to logistical constraints; selection is not performance-based. Consequently, if Round 2 has a smaller sample size than Round 1, and paired analyses of Round 1 and Round 2 would be performed only for participants with data available at both time points.