The Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) requires that residents are trained to fulfill their educational duties toward medical students. This study reviews the literature on resident-as-teacher programs (RATPs) aimed at surgical residents.

Literature search with MeSH terms internship, residency, general surgery, teaching, education, and curriculum was performed using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and ERIC. Curriculum components and how curricula's success was measured were extracted for each study. Quality was scored using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI).

For the seven relevant publications the average MERSQI score was 9.9 (range 6.5–13.5). The RATPs were either lecture based (4/7) or content was distributed electronically (3/7). Change in attitude toward teaching was the most frequently assessed outcome. Highly rated curricular components were individualized feedback and iterative reminders to make teaching part of practice.

Few published RATPs in general surgery training exist. The literature suggests that pairing lectures with observation and feedback is successful. Distributing the content electronically is a feasible alternative to class-room based teaching in a busy surgical residency.