The Development of a Virtual Sub-internship in Plastic Surgery during the COVID19 Pandemic

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The COVID19 pandemic forced many institutions to modify their educational practices and experiences, including halting visiting rotations for senior medical students. These rotations provide opportunities for both programs and students to meet one another, and allow for students to gain clinical and didactic knowledge in a subspecialty field. A number of previous studies have shown that a large portion of medical students match at an institution at which they rotated.1–3 However, with social distancing and travel restrictions, outside medical students were unable to visit our institution. In light of this, our section felt it was necessary to develop a virtual curriculum to provide a similar experience. The aim of this study was to share our experience and feedback from students, residents, and faculty. METHODS: The virtual rotation design mirrored that of our in-person rotation and included a mix of lectures, operative cases, case discussions, and social events. Students completed HIPAA training prior to the rotation, and specific consent was obtained from patients whose surgical cases would be live streamed for teaching. Feedback was obtained via prerotation and postrotation surveys on Qualtrics, as well as interviews with students, residents, and faculty. RESULTS: Twelve students participated (3 rotations, 4 students each). The curriculum included approximately 19 hours of lecture, 29 hours of live operating room time, and 8 hours of informational, mentor, or social events. Eight students (75%) completed the pre-rotation survey, and five (42%) completed the post-rotation survey. Overall, visiting students enjoyed the virtual rotation and found it useful and informative. When asked if virtual rotations should be kept as an option next year, 60% answered “yes” and 40% responded “maybe.” Notably, students reported feeling like that they knew more about the University of Chicago program after the rotation, and they answered an average of 3.20 and 3.37 points higher in the post survey to “On a scale from 1 to 10 how much do you feel like you know about the University of Chicago Program- Faculty” and “Residents,” respectively. Students reported that they enjoyed interacting with the team and the learning opportunities, but some noted that it was difficult to make an impression. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a two-week virtual curriculum that provided medical students from across the country an opportunity to learn more about plastic and reconstructive surgery and about the University of Chicago program. As virtual learning is becoming an increasingly vital part of medical education, our experience provides important insights on how we can best structure these opportunities moving forward. REFERENCES: 1. Drolet BC, Brower JP, Lifchez SD et al. Away rotations and matching in integrated plastic surgery: applicant and program director perspectives. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2016;137(4):1337–1343. 2. Janis JE, Hatef DA. Resident selection protocols in plastic surgery: a national survey of plastic surgery program directors. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2008;122(6):1929–1939. 3. Sergesketter AR, Glener A, Nguyen VT, et al. Abstract 9: The association between sub-internships and match rank order for integrated plastic surgery programs. Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2020;8(5S):5–6.