Design of a Novel Online, Modular, Flipped-classroom Surgical Curriculum for East, Central, and Southern Africa

Abstract

Objective: We describe a structured approach to developing a standardized curriculum for surgical trainees in East, Central, and Southern Africa (ECSA). Summary Background Data: Surgical education is essential to closing the surgical access gap in ECSA. Given its importance for surgical education, the development of a standardized curriculum was deemed necessary. Methods: We utilized Kern's 6-step approach to curriculum development to design an online, modular, flipped-classroom surgical curriculum. Steps included global and targeted needs assessments, determination of goals and objectives, the establishment of educational strategies, implementation, and evaluation. Results: Global needs assessment identified the development of a standardized curriculum as an essential next step in the growth of surgical education programs in ECSA. Targeted needs assessment of stakeholders found medical knowledge challenges, regulatory requirements, language variance, content gaps, expense and availability of resources, faculty numbers, and content delivery method to be factors to inform curriculum design. Goals emerged to increase uniformity and consistency in training, create contextually relevant material, incorporate best educational practices, reduce faculty burden, and ease content delivery and updates. Educational strategies centered on developing an online, flipped-classroom, modular curriculum emphasizing textual simplicity, multimedia components, and incorporation of active learning strategies. The implementation process involved establishing thematic topics and subtopics, the content of which was authored by regional surgeon educators and edited by content experts. Evaluation was performed by recording participation, soliciting user feedback, and evaluating scores on a certification examination. Conclusions: We present the systematic design of a large-scale, context-relevant, data-driven surgical curriculum for the ECSA region.

Implementation of a Smartphone‐Based Platform for Operative Feedback at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya: A Mixed Methods Study

“…This number is increasing but could hinder use of SIMPL in other programs; one option to overcome this is to provide a tablet or smartphone for shared use among faculty and residents. Internet access is less of a concern because surgical training programs in the region are required to have internet connectivity, and trainees utilize an online multimedia curriculum [25]. While the implementation of SIMPL was successful at Tenwek Hospital and is feasible in other surgery programs beyond those for which SIMPL was originally created, additional studies at smaller or more resource‐limited programs are needed.…”

Operative Case Volumes and Variation for General Surgery Training in East, Central, and Southern Africa

“…The College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA) was established to facilitate the training of surgeons and is the largest surgical training institution in Africa [ 3 ]. The five-year general surgery training program, with a set curriculum, comprises an initial Membership level (2 years) followed by a Fellowship level (3 years) [ 4 ].…”

An Online, Modular Curriculum Enhances Surgical Education and Improves Learning Outcomes in East, Central, and Southern Africa: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…In the preceding paper, we describe a standardized online curriculum designed and developed for trainees within the College of Surgeons of East, Central, and Southern Africa (COSECSA). 15 This study aimed to report outcomes following the first year of curriculum implementation as evaluated through trainee utilization, participant perceptions, and impact on certification examination performance.…”