Original ReportsInnovation in Pediatric Surgical Education for General Surgery Residents: A Mobile Web Resource
Introduction
Pediatric surgical training among general surgery residents can vary significantly within and between institutions. The variable experience with pediatric cases, increasing number of pediatric surgery residency training programs and noneducational time commitments for pediatric surgery faculty generate disparity in general surgery resident experiences across the country.1, 2, 3
New trends in surgical education include standardization of the educational program through the Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) curriculum and a formalized system of operative performance evaluations.4, 5 Recently, several studies demonstrated strategies to document resident performance according to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Milestones project.6 Specifically, an optimized method was implemented to track resident performance based on the American Board of Surgery (ABS) recommended Operative Performance Rating Scale (OPRS) as developed by Southern Illinois.6 The OPRS assesses resident performance in multiple domains of operative skill, and has been validated as a reliable tool.7
To offer a standardized approach for the distribution of pediatric surgical educational content and to facilitate general surgery resident to pediatric surgery attending interaction and feedback, we developed a mobile web educational platform. Within this platform, we integrated a standardized curriculum, an operative performance feedback system, access to social media and surgical educational resources. We hypothesized that this platform would systematically provide general surgery residents with access to pediatric surgical educational resources.
Section snippets
Study Design
This study was performed in the Division of Pediatric Surgery and the Department of Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) between September 2013 and July 2014. Pediatric surgery faculty, general surgery residents, and information technology engineers met to design a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant web interface. Faculty participants included 4 members in the Division of Pediatric Surgery, and trainee
Results
All 28 eligible general surgery residents accessed the pediatric surgery mobile curriculum. Web analytics identified 257 total hits to the mobile site over the study period (Fig. 2). The Home and Multimedia pages were the most visited, with 108 visits to Home and 107 to Multimedia. The syllabus received 28 hits and the OPRS site received 19. Users of smartphones and mobile tablets accessed the site slightly more often than users of desktop computers. There were 134 hits from mobile devices
Discussion
Our data show that all residents rotating on the pediatric surgery service accessed the mobile pediatric surgery curriculum. The integrated Twitter account supplemented the curriculum and had a reach of 85 unique individuals. Real-time feedback for pediatric surgical operations through the OPRS was used by 11 out of 28 general surgery residents. Our study demonstrates that formal pediatric surgery education is feasible and efficient for general surgery residents using a mobile web curriculum.
Conclusion
Mobile technology and social media provide a systematic means of fostering pediatric surgical education for general surgery residents. These systems allow faculty and trainees to ensure availability of educational resources, provide the ability to track operative performance, and facilitate a means of general surgery resident to pediatric surgery attending feedback.
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