Letter to the Editor: ‘Medical Education in Times of COVID-19: What's New in Neurosurgery?'

Participation of Latin American surgeons in Twitter using the hashtag #SoMe4Surgery and #SoMe4IQLatAm

“…Over time, technology and digital tools have become an indispensable part of the academic and professional development [ 1 ]. In medicine, social networks contribute to the professional training because it is a way to improve the knowledge and skills of students, residents, and specialists; additionally, these networks allow the dissemination of studies, publications, conferences, and clinical cases and interaction with other colleagues [ [2] , [3] , [4] , [5] , [6] , [7] ]. Particularly, among the contributions of social networks to surgical medical education are mentoring, globalization, generation of a digital educational platform, virtual simulation of procedures, research and collaboration, information access, and training opportunities [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Breaking down barriers to surgical learning in times of COVID-19: an initiative of future surgeons

“…We read with great interest the article recently published by Vailas et al. [ 1 ] entitled “The impact of COVID-19 on surgical training at a tertiary hospital in Greece: a ‘hidden infectious enemy’ for junior surgeons?” Although junior surgeons and surgical residents have been directly affected by modifications in action protocols, practice time, attendance at certain types of surgeries, and restriction on entry to practice settings, depending on their degree of preparation and advancement in their specialty [ 2 ], they arguably have an advantage over those who have not even had their first surgical rotation, or those who aspire to be surgeons and for whom the time spent on surgery and medical rounds has been minimal [ 3 ]. This is why medical students, who will be trained to be the surgeons of the future, are the most affected by this public calamity of global scale.…”

A Commentary on “Crisis management for surgical teams and their leaders, lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic; A structured approach to developing resilience or natural organisational responses” (Int J Surg 2021; 91:105987)

“…A strategy to initiate the transition from the traditional learning model to a learning model based on mentoring programs, surgical interest groups play a fundamental role, especially in the pandemic and post-pandemic periods [ [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] ]. These groups are collectives formed mainly by medical students, which perform academic and research activities in surgery and subspecialties, to deepen knowledge, develop skills not only surgical but professional, participate in events of social appropriation and circulate new knowledge, and have an approach on the lifestyle and problems of the surgeon [ [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] ]. Ortega-Sierra et al [ 7 ] stated that through the responsibilities and the establishment of roles in the interest groups, these groups become factories of future mentors, and strengthen the commitment of teachers and residents with the mentoring programs [ 7 ].…”