New Publication on E-learning as Part of Surgical Training in Low-Resource Settings
2.2 million more surgical care clinicians are needed to provide access to safe surgical care for all. E-learning could help to bridge this gap and make surgical training more accessible. As part of the United Nations Global Surgery Learning Hub (SURGhub), the Global Surgery Foundation (GSF), in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), recently published a review on e-learning in low-resource settings.
There is an enormous unmet need for surgical care worldwide, felt most acutely in low- and middle-income countries. Lack of access to safe, affordable surgical care causes immense disability, suffering, and death. This is a complex, multifactorial problem, but a key issue is an insufficient surgical care workforce in low-resource settings. A significant limitation on the expansion of surgical training is a dearth of trainers, which directly impacts the efficacy of the trainee–trainer relationship—the cornerstone of the classical apprenticeship model of surgical training.
“Lack of access to safe, affordable surgical care causes immense disability, suffering, and death.”
Advances in technology provide new tools to expand and enhance the training of surgeons in low-resource settings. New technologies allow access to learning material, peer interaction, supervision, feedback, and learning opportunities at a distance. This can reduce the trainee’s dependence on a trainer as the font of all surgical instruction, and by doing so, allow for an expansion of quality-assured training.
“New technologies allow access to learning material, peer interaction, supervision, feedback, and learning opportunities at a distance.”
The review describes how technology is helping to enhance and expand surgical training worldwide. It then focuses on cognitive e-learning in low-resource settings, outlining the current situation, challenges, and suggested avenues for progress. To harness the potential of e-learning, emphasis must be placed on improving the findability, quality, and contextual appropriateness of educational resources, while also emphasising sustainability and local ownership.
You can read the full article here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40137-024-00399-8
This review is by Eric O’Flynn, Ahmed Ahmed, Arushi Biswas, Nefti Bempong-Ahun, Ines Perić & Juan Carlos Puyana and was published in Current Surgery Reports.
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