Video Streaming and Surgical Training
Institutions have been forced to adapt during the past couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One barrier institutions faced was the ability to provide surgical training to medical students. If surgeries were avoidable, they were most likely canceled due to the unnecessary implicated risks of transmitting coronavirus. Most surgical departments even temporarily suspended elective surgeries. Additionally, most students were asked to limit their patient interactions if they were deemed a nonessential healthcare worker. This means that the usual didactic learning of watching surgeries in person, scrubbing in, assisting surgeons when needed, would be unattainable. If patient care could have been done through electronic means such as through video conferencing, travel devices, and work-up with computer systems, students must comply. The results of surgical students receiving non-existent patient care and operative experience can leave trainees with a gap in surgical training that is vital for their career aspirations. Thus, a solution was necessary.
A multimodal approach can be used to augment medical students surgical operating experience. Video streaming was an amicable choice for students to experience real time surgical procedures as well as receive lectures from the surgery team. Through video streaming, professors have the ability to alter the course of their didactic lesson. Professors can give an online lesson and then, subsequently, students could tune in to a live surgical learning on the same lecture. The surgery team would be able to provide step by step directions on what actions they partook. Surgical videos can provide a wide range of trainees information about operative scenarios. The surgery team can also question students simultaneously since video streaming can be done in real time. This keeps student more engaged, and dependent on team members. Lastly, to provide appropriate surgical skill training to students, institutions have developed telesimulation. Medical students would be given laparoscopic box training set with essential equipment such as needles and sutures. A duplicate box training set is used by the surgeon to demonstrate proper technique. This offers a cost-effective way of teaching laparoscopic surgery skills to students who would be unable to attend surgeries. It will also ensure students are provided with the essential surgical skills even without stepping foot into a surgery.
Unfortunately, video streaming will never replace in person learning. Research has shown face to face interactions are more personable and offer a greater tendency to foster relationships between the mentor and mentees. There is also a decreased lack of presence and activity students feel in the surgical setting. This may limit them to become the expert of the human body. Experience and practice is still necessary to become an adept surgeon. In the future, even though surgeries will start to become more common, the development of video streaming will still be beneficial. Medical surgical students will be afforded the ability to have in person trainings as well as electronic means to master their craft. It has been shown through research that repetitive learning is key to foster meaningful memory that will last. Surgical students will be able to watch expert surgeons even before they enter an operating room, eliminating any nerves or anxiety. With video streaming technology, institutions will be able to expand the number and quality of hours students can have as observers before even picking up a scalpel. Overall, medical education will be more immersive and inclusive. Something as important as surgery should have various opportunities to learn the same content. As no one student is the same, it is still imperative for institutions to offer various educational content for student mastery.
References
Madani, Amin MD, PhD*; Hirpara, Dhruvin MD†; Chadi, Sami A. MD, MSc*,†; Dhar, Preeti MD, MSc*,†; Okrainec, Allan MD, MHPE*,† Leveraging Videoconferencing Technology to Augment Surgical Training During a Pandemic, Annals of Surgery: June 2021 - Volume 2 - Issue 2 - p e035 doi: 10.1097/AS9.0000000000000035
Schneider, Armin et al. “Wireless live streaming video of surgical operations: an evaluation of communication quality.” Journal of telemedicine and telecare vol. 13,8 (2007): 391-6. doi:10.1258/135763307783064386
