A new editorial on Cureus examines the future of surgical education, particularly in terms of operative video review and its potential to “fundamentally redefine” it.
The authors write that the apprenticeship model of “see one, do one, teach one" in surgical education is “increasingly challenged by modern realities: work-hour restrictions, growing procedural complexity, variability in operative exposure, and heightened expectations for patient safety and measurable competency.”
The article examines the many positives surrounding operative video review, which the authors note provides “an objective and reproducible record of intraoperative performance” that can allow trainees and educators to “revisit technical maneuvers, decision-making, communication, and operative flow in ways not possible through memory alone,” as well as “help reveal the subtle cognitive and technical behaviors that characterize surgical expertise.”
The authors write that “as digital technologies and artificial intelligence continue to evolve, operative video review may become an increasingly important component of modern surgical training.” However, the authors note that successful implementation of the teaching tool requires “careful attention to confidentiality, psychological safety, and educational culture.” They add that operative notes “capture outcomes and key procedural steps, but they cannot fully reconstruct the nuances of performance.” Video review, by contrast, “creates an objective record that allows surgeons to revisit these moments with clarity,” they write.
They note that the power of operative video review goes beyond identifying errors, in that it can reveal “the invisible components of expertise” and allow educators to “slow down decision-making, examine economy of motion, analyze operative flow, and discuss alternative strategies in a way that is rarely achievable in real time during surgery.”
“The operating room has always been a classroom,” they conclude. “Video review may finally allow us to study it with the rigor it deserves.”
Read the full article here.
