ABSTRACT
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted clinical experience and case volumes. Surgical simulation is now an even more powerful training tool and, to maximize potential, we must ensure learner engagement. Our aim was to identify barriers to surgical simulation engagement and strategies to mitigate these. Method(s): Scoping search was performed with a trained librarian of PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science. Title and screening were completed with inclusion criteria: articles describing barriers to engagement with surgical simulation. After full text screening, data was extracted from included articles: type of study, MERSQI score, type/number of participants, barriers to engagement and strategies to mitigate these. Result(s): Twenty-nine manuscripts were included with 951 faculty and 2,467 residents. The majority (86%) were in high income countries (HIC) and four in LMICs. Most were surveys (22/29), and five involved semi-structured interviews/focus groups. Mean adjusted MERSQI score was 8. Commonest barriers to HIC engagement were learner clinical duties (9/25), lack of learner time (13/25), lack of learner interest/motivation (9/25) and lack of faculty time or interest to participate (12/25). In LMIC, commonest barriers were lack of simulation lab/equipment (4/4), cost (3/4) and inadequate supervision (3/4). Strategies to improve HIC engagement were mandatory/protected resident simulation training (9/25) and, in LMIC, low cost simulators (4/4) and sharing resources (2/4). Conclusion(s): Identification of barriers to simulation engagement is crucial for successful learning. Given the increased importance of simulation education due to the COVID-19 pandemic, surgical educators should strategize to maximize engagement.
ABSTRACT
In March of 2020, faculty across the nation had to adapt their teaching methodologies due to the COVID 19 pandemic as universities across the country suspended face-to-face classes. This involved short-term solutions to complete the spring semester such as switching in-person lectures to synchronous lectures utilizing a university purchased platform. During the summer of 2020, many schools and courses saw record enrollment. Instructors were tasked with transitioning the once face-to-face class into a complete online environment of educational equivalence for the entirety of the course (unlike the partial transition during the spring semester). Most faculty are not trained in the pedagogical content knowledge related to designing, organizing, and maintaining an online course environment, yet were tasked with developing their summer courses in a short period of time. In addition to these sudden educational delivery changes, research findings indicate that supportive interventions to reduce loneliness should prioritize younger individuals during the COVID 19 pandemic [1]. This paper reviews the successful online transition of an in-person engineering innovation course that utilizes project based educational methods to an online environment during the summer of 2020 and the subsequent fall semester. In total, 174 undergraduate and graduate multidisciplinary engineering students completed this course in the new online format during the summer and 131 students took the course in the fall semester of 2020. Various methods were used to create a diverse and engaging learning experience for the students, while simultaneously creating a sense of community during a period of loneliness for many of the students. Anecdotal student feedback noted that the sense of community the course encouraged was one of the best aspects of the course. Two main ways the instructor helped to build this element of community was through the user experience and through course assignments. © American Society for Engineering Education, 2021