Impact of education on smoking cessation counseling by surgical residents

Background Surgeons infrequently provide smoking cessation counseling for patients, in part because they lack training to do so. We investigated the efficacy of 2 methods of teaching smoking cessation counseling to surgical residents. Methods Residents’ knowledge and attitude toward smoking cessation counseling were assessed by written test. Counseling skills were assessed with standardized patients. Residents were randomized for smoking cessation education: a “Role-play” group received a 1-hour lecture plus an hour of role-playing. An evidence-based medicine (EBM) group attended a 1- hour EBM journal club on related articles. Changes in residents’ knowledge, attitude, and skills were assessed after education. Results Sixteen residents completed the study. After either form of education, residents demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge, attitude, and skills in smoking cessation counseling. There was no significant difference in improvement between the EBM and Role-play groups. Conclusions A brief educational intervention can significantly improve residents’ knowledge, attitude, and counseling skills for smoking cessation.