Exploring the Role of Anatomy in Teaching and Learning Surgical Decision-Making
Lucas Streith
Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia
Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Time: 12:00pm to 1:30pm
Hybrid: IRC Room 414 & Zoom*
Zoom Details: For connection details, please email ches.communications@ubc.ca.
Abstract
Anatomy is a critical aspect of surgical reasoning, and surgical residents must learn to apply anatomy in the operating room through guidance from supervising surgeons. The challenge residents encounter is that expert surgeons often use anatomy tacitly in their decisions, which obscures the clinical reasoning process from trainees in these guidance interactions. In this presentation, I will describe an early programme of research that examines how anatomy impacts the teaching and learning of surgical decision-making. My aim in this talk is to explore how anatomy can strengthen clinical reasoning development by helping residents understand the “why” behind surgical decisions, and how it could become a tool for surgical teachers and residents alike.
Biography
Lucas is a general surgery resident at UBC, taking time away from clinical training to explore his passion for teaching, education scholarship, and research. When he started the Master of Health Professions Education at UBC and Maastricht University, he was looking forward to formal training in teaching skills and education theory. It did not take long for him to realize that he wanted to spend much more time in this realm to explore a passion far beyond what he initially expected. He is now embarking on a PhD in health professions education. Lucas’ background is in the basic sciences; his love of anatomy drove him to general surgery and has also inspired his research programme on surgical decision-making. This WITA is an exploration of new thoughts about clinical decision-making, decision-makers, and the elements that play into the learning and practice of decision-making in clinical spaces.