Article
Neurosurgical psychomotor skill training in LMICs – report from the 11 courses in developing countries
Neurochirurgisches Psychomotoriktraining in LMICs: Bericht aus 11 Kursen in Entwicklungsländern
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Authors
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Federico Nicolosi
- University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Milano, Italien
| Published: | May 25, 2022 |
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Outline
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Objective: Training in neurosurgery suffers from many traditional limitations mainly related to the cost of training. It is estimated that in developing countries there are approximately 5 million untreated cases each year and a shortage of approximately 23,000 neurosurgeons. The quality of training also concerns the HICs. In fact, although neurosurgery is a niche, it has been calculated to account for 19% of all malpractice cases. To address these issues, new simulation-based training methodologies need to be introduced. In this report we describe a new concept of remote hands-on training for cranial neurosurgery based on virtual and physical simulation and an on-line-based support from an international faculty.
Methods: From April 2021 to October 2021, despite the pandemic, 185 students and postgraduates from countries classified as LMICs took part in 11 simulation-based hands-on courses entirely based on UpSurgeOn hybrid simulation technology (UpSurgeOn S.r.l., Italy). The courses covered standard cranial approaches, transnasal neuroendoscopy and brain aneurysm surgery. Part of the international faculty gave online lectures before the hands-on part. 185 surveys relating to the experience were collected.
Results: The results of 180 surveys show a medium-high satisfaction profile relating to the use of simulation technology. The most favorable results concerned the frontotemporal transcranial approaches during the exploration under the microscope. The results highlighted points of possible improvement especially in the microdissection tasks.
Conclusion: Simulation-based training in countries with online support from international masters has shown promising impact in terms of cost-effectiveness and satisfaction in LMICs.
