Short courses in medicine are becoming increasingly popular as health professionals take advantage of the benefits of virtual learning combined with hands-on practical sessions for various minor surgical procedures.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated virtual learning opportunities as health professionals moved from in-contact learning environments to the safer online forum for theoretical learning. Short courses in medicine certainly benefit busy professionals who need small surgery courses to ensure they keep up-to-date with the latest developments in surgical protocol and techniques.
If you’re considering a short course in medicine, here’s how Small Surgery Courses can help.
- Convenient
For doctors and surgeons, short courses in medicine provide opportunities for professional development and continuing education related to a specific medical or public health topic.Blended learning, where virtual learning is mixed into the pedagogical methods at medical institutions, was accelerated due to health concerns during the pandemic. The result is beneficial because short courses in medicine can proceed at a pace suited to the health professional.Short courses in medicine are also convenient because the professional’s time travelling to a medical institution is vastly reduced as the theory is completed online, and they only have to attend the practical sessions.
- Up-to-date
Research into particular medical topics is ongoing, and surgeons can benefit from the short courses in medicine offered by medical schools or developed by an accredited medical school in conjunction with a professional organisation, such as the World Health Organisation, or the International Committee of the Red Cross.The course presenters will be visiting academics who are experts in the course topics or a faculty member from the institution or organisation offering the course. Sometimes the course presenter is a practising surgeon who has chosen to specialise in a particular field and can convey the knowledge gained from performing hundreds of similar procedures. A specialist will be able to disseminate the latest research, share tips and make surgeons aware of the possible complications of minor surgeries. - Time-efficient
Hands-on medical training can be offered by a medical school or an accredited organisation, coupled with online theoretical coursework.Qualified medical professionals can obtain accreditation enabling them to perform specific specialised procedures. The medical coursework offered online can be completed relatively quickly at the surgeon’s own pace rather than having to attend scheduled once-a-week lectures at an institution.The surgeon must then provide evidence of successful practical application of the knowledge before obtaining professional certification from the short course provider. That hands-on experience no longer needs to be gained solely through patient contact but through surgical simulators. Simulators allow patients to remain safe while surgeons learn the technical skills in an immersive and realistic manner (2).
The role of simulation in training surgeons and the reduction in training time have been cited as providing a safe, standardised training opportunity when operating on virtual patients. Agha and Fowler point out in their paper on The Role and Validity of Surgical Simulation (3) that simulation is valuable for experts learning new techniques. As simulators become more authentic and diverse, they certainly help qualified surgeons hone their skills in a shorter time.
- Professional guidance
The institutions and organisations offering courses will limit the short courses in medicine to students whose qualifications meet the criteria for admission.Short courses in medicine can also be directed to only those professionals within a given field. The participant-to-presenter ratio will be low to ensure the professionals taking the course can benefit from the presenter’s expert guidance and years of experience in a particular field. - Flipped classrooms
The presenters of the small surgery courses will use videos, lectures and small group practice to ensure surgeons are familiar with the procedure being taught. The flipped classroom idea has been popular with some students, while others have cited the pre-class videos they need to watch as time-consuming.The consensus is that videos should be limited to around 20 minutes (3). Then in face-to-face sessions, a quiz is used to evaluate the participants’ knowledge before proceeding. An adequately structured quiz allows the course presenter to assess misconceptions and take remedial action before proceeding further.It also allows for embedding knowledge gained during the video presentation, quiz and follow-up session. Depending on the subject of the small surgery courses, they can be presented in a single long session or broken up into smaller sessions. They can be completed over weekends or evenings to accommodate surgeons’ busy schedules.
Short courses in medicine have developed substantially in recent years, benefitting professionals who can take advantage of the virtual opportunities for learning that are convenient, quicker, up-to-date and structured to a high standard of excellence with the patient’s wellbeing of paramount importance.
To find out more about short courses in medicine available through Small Surgery Courses, contact us today.
References
- Murphy B (2020) Residency in a pandemic: how COVID-19 is affecting trainees. American Medical Association.
Accessed 30 June, 2022 - 2 Agha RA, Fowler AJ. The role and validity of surgical simulation. Int Surg. 2015 Feb;100(2):350-7. doi: 10.9738/INTSURG-D-14-00004.1. PMID: 25692441; PMCID: PMC4337453.
Accessed 30 June, 2022 - Ilic D, Nordin RB, Glasziou P, Tilson JK, Villanueva EA. Randomised controlled trial of a blended learning evaluation intervention for teaching evidence-based medicine. BMC Med Educ. 2015;15:39. doi: 10.1186/s12909-015-0321-6.
Accessed 30 June, 2022