Education

Most of the current changes prioritize the safety of the patient, provider, and trainee over any educational objectives. Clinical volume is down and attending surgeons are performing most aspects of the case to reduce duration. As a consequence, hands on intraoperative surgical education is undoubtedly going to be negatively affected during this time. The overall effect on resident and fellow competency caused by this reduction in volume remains to be seen.
Similarly, educational course are being cancelled and/or postponed. For example, our planned flap dissection cadaver course has been delayed due to concerns regarding 1) violation of social distancing recommendations and 2) potential viral transmission from fresh frozen cadaveric specimens.
To balance some of the negative consequences, some aspects of medical education are being enhanced. Residents are able to engage in research endeavors, studying, and pursue alternative didactic opportunities. Several multi-institutional virtual resident lecture series have sprung up and provided trainees with new options for education.