How We Do It: Implementing a Virtual, Multi-Institutional Collaborative Education Model for the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

OBJECTIVE: To describe the implementation of a virtual, multi-institutional educational collaboration involving over 50 general surgery residency programs during the COVID-19 pandemic that enabled enhanced learning for surgical residents despite social-distancing requirements. DESIGN: Description of Virginia Commonwealth University's virtual educational augmentation program and the development of a collaborative teaching network during the coronavirus pandemic. SETTING: This collaboration was initiated by Virginia Commonwealth University's Department of Surgery, Richmond, VA, and grew to include general surgery residency programs from across the nation. PARTICIPANTS: General surgery residents and faculty from Departments of General Surgery were recruited locally via direct emails and nationally via the Association of Program Directors’ listserv and Twitter. In total, 52 institutions participated from every part of the country. RESULTS: A virtual, multi-institutional collaborative lecture series was initiated that grew to involve over 50 general surgery residency programs, allowing for daily didactics by experts in their fields during the initial surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, while maintaining social distancing and the provision of essential clinical care. CONCLUSION: A multi-institutional collaboration enabled continued didactic education during the coronavirus pandemic, vastly broadening the expertise, scope and variety available to residents, while decreasing burden on faculty. We believe this can serve as a framework for future multi-institutional collaborations that extend beyond the COVID-19 era.