Image-Guided Surgical e-Learning in the Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era: What Is Next?
Alain García Vázquez, Juan M. Verde, Francesca Dal Mas, Mariano Palermo, Lorenzo Cobianchi, Jacques Marescaux, B. Gallix, Bernard Dallemagne, Silvana Perretta, Mariano Giménez
Abstract
The current unprecedented coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) crisis has accelerated and enhanced e-learning solutions. During the so-called transition phase, efforts were made to reorganize surgical services, reschedule elective surgical procedures, surgical research, academic education, and careers to optimize results. The intention to switch to e-learning medical education is not a new concern. However, the current crisis triggered an alarm to accelerate the transition. Efforts to consider e-learning as a teaching and training method for medical education have proven to be efficient. For image-guided therapies, the challenge requires more effort since surgical skills training is combined with image interpretation training, thus the challenge is to cover quality educational content with a balanced combination of blended courses (online/onsite). Several e-resources are currently available in the surgical scenario; however, further efforts to enhance the current system are required by accelerating the creation of new learning solutions to optimize complex surgical education needs in the current disrupted environment.