Creating Learning Opportunities by Using Videoconferencing in Surgical Education

Abstract

Access to mentors for education in surgical subspecialties is a challenge in many hospitals. Videoconferencing (VC) provides real-time communication between mentors and mentees despite dispersed geographical locations. In Norway, an educational pathway of a specific laparoscopic surgical procedure was carried out using VC. The surgical training lasted for three months and was video recorded. The dataset covers the educational procedure, constituting of a trajectory of eight patient cases. During a model of stepwise distancing of the physical presence of the mentor, the collaborative work using VC leads the mentee to become an expert. VC is a tool for both collaboration and representation, as the picture on the VC offers the same information to both the mentor and the mentee. The communication is characterized by guidance and explanations of why specific actions are necessary for problem-solving. The use of VC was a presumption for becoming an expert in this procedure.