ABSTRACT
Introduction: Medical students have lost invaluable exposure to surgery and research during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in missed opportunities and mentorship essential to career decision-making. This study aimed to explore the impact of COVID-19 pandemic and the influence of regional educational events on student engagement with surgery and academia. Method: A series of virtual regional events on academic surgery were delivered in 2021 across the UK and Ireland. Attendees completed post-event feedback, including questions on their experience of engagement with surgery and research during the pandemic, and the impact on career interests. 5-point Likert scales were used to assess agreement (from 1 ['strong disagreement'] to 5 ['strong agreement']). Data were summarised using mean and standard deviation (SD), and mean differences (MD) compared using parametric tests. Results: Of ∼850 attendees across 31 events between January and May 2021, 393 students responded. The pandemic had made engagement with surgery (mean: 3.95, SD: 1.01) and research more challenging (mean: 3.79, SD: 1.03). Those undecided on a surgical career reported a significantly larger increase in knowledge (MD: 0.42, 95% CI: 0.25-0.59, p<0.001) and intention to consider a surgical career (MD: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.26-0.56, p<0.001) after the event, than those who had already decided. Conclusions: Accessible opportunities are needed to combat the lack of surgical and research experience caused by the pandemic. Concrete efforts at grass-root and national levels are required to continue encouraging a representative and research-active surgical workforce.