Leveraging Videoconferencing Technology to Augment Surgical Training During a Pandemic

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to review the use of videoconferencing as a practical tool for remote surgical education and to propose a model to overcome the impact of a pandemic on resident training. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, most institutions and residency programs have been restructured to minimize the number of residents in the hospital as well as their interactions with patients and to promote physical distancing measures. This has resulted in decreased resident operative exposure, responsibility, and autonomy, hindering their educational goals and ability to achieve surgical expertise necessary for independent practice. METHODS: We conducted a narrative review to explore the use of videoconferencing for remote broadcasting of surgical procedures, telecoaching using surgical videos, telesimulation for surgical skills training, and establishing a didactic lecture series. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We present a multimodal approach for using practical videoconferencing tools that provide the means for audiovisual communication to help augment residents’ operative experience and limit the impact of self-isolation, redeployment, and limited operative exposure on surgical training.