Abstract
BackgroundThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has placed tremendous strain on the national health care systems throughout Europe. As a result, there has been a significant influence on residents' education. We surveyed European neurosurgery residents to estimate the magnitude of the pandemic's impact on neurosurgical training.MethodsAn anonymous, voluntary, 44-question, web-based survey was administered to European neurosurgical residents from November 2, 2020, to January 15, 2021, by e-mail invitation. Close-ended, multiple-choice questions were used to examine the perspectives of neurosurgical trainees of different training programs in Europe regarding the pandemic's impact on education, as well as to evaluate the online webinars as a sufficient alternative educational tool, and their future role.ResultsThe total number of participants was 134 from 22 European countries. Nearly 88.8 % of respondents reported that the pandemic had a negative influence on their education. A statically significant decrease in surgical exposure, outpatient clinic involvement, and working hours was observed (P < 0.05). Webinars, although widely disseminated, were not considered as a sufficient training alternative.ConclusionsThe SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had a significant impact on neurosurgical training. During the last year, with the outbreak of the pandemic, formal training education was heavily compromised. Online webinars do not seem to be a sufficient alternative, and some trainees estimate that a whole year of training has been compromised. Our current data have to be cautiously considered for possibly reorganizing the whole training experience. The pandemic may well function as a stimulus for optimizing neurosurgical training.
Highlights
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) has had a significant impact on everybody’s life, with repeat lockdowns and many social and professional restrictions
Our survey attempted to examine the role of alternative educational activities, such as webinars, in neurosurgical training
We found that the emergence of web-based education was not perceived as adequate to replace face-to-face education and hands-on training
Summary
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2) has had a significant impact on everybody’s life, with repeat lockdowns and many social and professional restrictions. The rapid spread of the virus placed a significant strain on health care systems globally, and governments have diverted the majority of health care resources toward the fight against the pandemic in a heroic effort to contain it. This meant redeployment of physicians of any specialty to COVID-19 departments, restriction of elective surgeries, along with severe restrictions on face-to-face outpatient clinical activity.[1] Neurosurgery did not stay unaffected, as neurosurgery departments throughout the world made. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has placed tremendous strain on the national health care systems throughout Europe. We surveyed European neurosurgery residents to estimate the magnitude of the pandemic’s impact on neurosurgical training
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