A Systematic Review of the Medical Student Feedback on Undergraduate Surgical Education During the Pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has challenged and changed significant aspects of dayto-day life. With regard to medical education, the challenges have been substantial, and the changes have been innovative. This systematic review focuses specifically on medical student feedback on undergraduate surgical education during the pandemic. It explores the various types of technology used to facilitate online learning and aims to comprehensively review the advantages and disadvantages. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were adhered to, and electronic databases PubMed, Medline, and Scopus were used to identify relevant studies. The search yielded 102 papers once duplicates and non-English articles were removed. Of these, 19 articles were included in the review. These publications were appraised, which was the source of the narrative syntheses of this systematic review, and due to the heterogeneous data, a meta-analysis could not be successfully implemented. The integration of real-time image capture devices used to display stakeholders or objects such as models of wounds has resulted in the improvement of virtual learning to an almost in-person experience. Adding to this, the use of communication and participation platforms facilitates active discussion when used appropriately. However, there are still some barriers that may be removed with time as the technology continually improves, and these are not exclusive to connectivity issues and restriction of the senses to only two-dimensional sight and hearing.Despite this, the student feedback was largely positive, and the integration of more innovative methods of delivering teaching will have a positive impact on education as long as it is used as an adjunct and not as a replacement for face-to-face teaching.

Exploring Augmented Reality Integration in Diagnostic Imaging: Myth or Reality?

“…We can highlight several key points regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of AR applications in healthcare, most of the themes of which relate to diagnostic imaging, as follows [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] Exploring new opportunities in healthcare that have never been faced or thought of before [23].…”

“…The compilation of studies [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] presents a rich tapestry of potential applications emerging from current research endeavors.…”

“…Through AR-based XR solutions, remote surgical guidance, training opportunities, and mentorship thrive, ensuring the continuous development of surgical skills and knowledge transfer amidst restrictions on in-person interactions, a boon particularly relevant during and after the pandemic. Transitioning to medical education, study [27] undertakes a systematic review of medical student feedback on surgical education during the pandemic. While not exclusively centered on AR, the adoption of ARenabled platforms likely underpins remote learning initiatives and clinical skills training, mitigating disruptions induced by the pandemic and fostering a seamless transition to digital learning environments.…”