Grasp laparoscopic surgery basic skills: a highly interactive online course model

Abstract

Recent changes in surgical education and training have made the virtual learning environments more attractive than previously and have created opportunities for new instructional designs of medical curricula. The aim of this project is to show the results of a novel online elective programme to complement existing surgical undergraduate teaching methods. The training process was developed to enhance existing skills in the field of minimally invasive surgery among the students of the Bachelor Degree in Medicine and Surgery. Interventions were provided characterised on the one hand by the high quality of content and teaching methods, on the other hand by the strong interaction between teachers and students. The elective course created was delivered entirely online, password-protected, and was divided into 4 modules. 30 students enrolled in the fifth and sixth-year students of the UNIGE medical schools have significantly improved their knowledge on mini-invasive surgery after the course. The evaluation results demonstrated high levels of course functionality, effectiveness of its online content and high levels of satisfaction among medical students.