Hilarious Reactions to Virtual Reality

2016  will be VR year - Facebook (Oculus), Samsung, Sony and HTC will all releasing VR sets and scenes like these will I suspect become common place.
But for now let us enjoy watching fellow human beings look silly - next year it will probably be you! On the serious side, these devices could prove invaluable in simulated training of manual tasks such as surgery, which is why I am very interested in their development.

High Fidelity Surgical Training

This is an excellent example of high fidelity simulation of a difficult surgical procedure.
As one surgeon in the video says it is now unacceptable for a surgeon to go through a learning curve whilst operating on patients. A smart device like this not only recreates the procedure but cleverly, is able to give feedback to the surgeon.
Much more of this is required. Surgeons are clever and resourceful. Colleges of surgeons should be encouraging and incentivising young surgeons to do what this clever chap from Holland has achieved.

Posted with Blogsy

Do We Really Need 4 Colleges of Surgery?

This YouTube video features a unique set of talks from the presidents of all surgical colleges in the UK. They were given at the recent annual meeting of the Association of Surgeons in Training in Belfast.
Most training and assessment (including examinations) is now intercollegiate i.e. one exam for all colleges and is handled by newly created intercollegiate bodies.
One wonders sometimes therefore what is the point of having different colleges ?
All the British/Irish colleges were formed centuries ago and are steeped in history. It does seem reckless I suppose to do away with several centuries of surgical tradition and pomp. 

Alot of useful inter-collegiate work takes place but when one sees the real challenges facing surgery and surgeons today, a lot of more is needed.
Maybe when all four colleges have women presidents, things will really change and old boy clubs and ties will become relics of the past!

If the Edinburgh college can get a base in Birmimgham, how about a base in Yorkshire for the English College? - Are you listening Claire? 

Should we be Formally Testing Surgeons?

Two Major Breakthroughs In New Surgeon Rating Study - Forbes

This is fascinating stuff. In the United states, it is common practice to go and observe the surgeon you want to appoint, operate. In the UK, it is virtually unheard of - until recently that is.  I was representing the Royal College of Surgeons at a  appointments advisory committee to appoint a Consultant Heart Surgeon at a London Hospital. The medical director told me that it was common practice for him (the medical director - a non surgeon) and a senior surgeon to observe the potential appointee in their current workplace.

A formal assessment of surgical skills is made when trainees are interviewed for appointment to specialty training, both at ST3 level and at ST1 level. And yet, no formal assessment is made at the end of training when they are about to enter the scary real world or further on in their career as consultant when they are being assessed/appraised for revalidation. This paper suggests that there is value in doing so and I am sure the public would expect it.

See One, Do One, teach one - Measuring the Learning Curve.

One of the possible victims of public reporting of surgical outcomes of individual surgeons is Surgical Innovation.  When a surgeon is under scrutiny, he dare not innovate lest he fails. Learning a new technique means that initially the operative outcome will not be as good as when the surgery is performed by a surgeon already experienced in this new technique. But if the new technique carries potential advantages, it must be disseminated. So how is this quandary solved? How does a surgeon get over this so called learning curve? This paper by German surgeons on the training of minimally invasive mitral heart valve surgery turns the measuring of the learning curve into a quasi science. There are recognised ways of getting over the learning curve without harming or disadvantaging  patients - using simulation and operating with experienced 'buddies' to start with (so called buddy system) are 2 commonly used. Measuring the learning curve and knowing when a surgeon is ready to fly solo is therefore of crucial importance - which is why this paper from Leipzig is worthy of mention. 

Why Apprenticeship remains invaluable in Medical Training. #MEDED

JAMA Network | JAMA | Attending Physicians on Ward Rounds
Another great study published in JAMA . This unique study by Bob Wachter and Abraham Verghese, both American Physicians, writers and who are always worth listening to, sought  the opinion of medical students, and doctors in training on the value of a ward round with a senior doctor.

Teaching Surgery Remotely across the Oceans

This is an amazing and exciting initiative 

How do you train a Surgeon?

The European Association of Cardiothoracic Surgeons has released a number of videoed discussions that took place at their annual meeting in Barcelona in October 2012.

Must Buy for Gamers... and Future Surgeons

This looks awesome! The future of surgical training is simulation and kit like this will become an integral part of a training room/lab