A surgeon learns how to perform laparoscopy using a cardboard box and other materials in Cameroon. Firefighters in Guatemala practice how to stop bleeding in injured individuals and prevent hemorrhagic shock with a smartphone app and a DIY simulator. What sets these scenarios apart is that there is no physical teacher present, and the materials used to create the training simulators are made from locally available materials.
These are just some of the innovations in surgical training that took center stage at the first-ever Surgical Education Learners Forum (SELF) Symposium, August 21–23, 2023. The event was sponsored by the Intuitive Foundation and held at Intuitive Surgical’s headquarters in Sunnyvale.
During its opening day, the Symposium featured presentations from the winners of the Global Surgical Training Challenge and those who developed training modules through SELF. The Global Surgical Training Challenge funded the development of surgical training modules that allow practitioners to independently learn, practice, and self-assess specific surgical skills.
The trainings are simulation-based and modular, with each simulation designed to develop a particular surgical skill. The downloadable modules are low-cost and open-source to help enable access for resource-constrained locales. They also include a self-assessment function that allows surgical practitioners to independently test their new skills.
“The SELF Symposium was a tremendous opportunity to bring together these leaders to present their work and connect with one another,” said Dr. Catherine Mohr, president of the Intuitive Foundation. “Our goal is to accelerate progress toward a future where access to high-quality surgical and critical care skills training is universal.”
Over 100 participants attended and presenters detailed their approaches to topics such as self-assessment, low-cost simulation, and self-directed learning. Some procedures covered in the presentations included trauma care, pediatric care, reproductive health, and orthopedics.
Part two of the Symposium featured the Consensus Conference. These sessions were aimed at building consensus among participants through the creation of guidelines on how to scale clinical procedural skill and surgical training in low-resource settings.
More than 60 attendees from around the globe shared their perspectives on topics like self-assessment, procedure prioritization, and evidence generation.
Select participants continued working in the months following the conference. They formed consensus working groups to refine the guidelines for influencing how self-directed surgical and procedural trainings should be developed worldwide. Intuitive Foundation plans to publish the guidelines in the future.
“We are proud of what the participants accomplished, and we look forward to continuing this work in the future,” said Mohr. “These guidelines will serve as a roadmap for how to scale surgical and procedural skills training to meet the needs of health professionals and patients worldwide.”
The next SELF Symposium is planned to take place alongside International Surgery Week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia during the last week of August, 2024.
To learn more, visit the Intuitive Foundation website.