Simulation-based education: understanding the socio-cultural complexity of a surgical training ‘boot camp’

Abstract

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study of a surgical BC that takes a socio-cultural approach to exploring and understanding context, complexities, uncertainties and learning associated with one example of SBE. Our findings suggest that a BC is as much about social and cultural processes as it is about individual, cognitive and acquisitive learning. Acknowledging this explicitly will help those planning similar enterprises and open up a new perspective on SBE research.

Using paradox theory to understand responses to tensions between service and training in general surgery

“…there is a vast literature on 'VR-to-OR' [virtual reality to operating room] research in surgical education 37 ), but there is now increasing interest in considering questions about surgical training within the complexity of the workplace. 36,[38][39][40] Using a paradox lens to organise and interpret our data, 31,32 we sought to uncover more about the nature of service-training tension, how service and training are inter-related and how stakeholders responded to them in a real-life surgical setting.…”

40-4-40: educational and economic outcomes of a free, international surgical training event

“…No published literature to date describes sustained benefit of undergraduate ‘bootcamps’ through to PGY1-4 training 21. Careful consideration of educational theory and how this might influence skills acquisition in a shorter time frame should be given in future iterations of similar, single-day events 22. This might include increased emphasis on practical skills and responsiveness to varied learning needs 23…”

Education and service: how theories can help in understanding tensions

“…medical school admissions, postgraduate training providers, employers, the regulator, and the groups that stand up for the rights of all junior doctors on education, training and contractual issues). AT can help make explicit the history and culture of each of these groups and systems, and examine how different activity systems interact with each other, to understand dialogues and multiple perspectives of interacting activity systems . The deeper understanding of influences and relationships enabled by using the AT framework can inform progress and help units learn from their history.…”

“…A strength of AT is that it provides a theoretical lens for understanding and analysing service–education tensions, allowing for the identification of patterns and making inferences through interactions, describing the phenomenon of service–teaching tension and presenting this phenomenon through a built‐in language and rhetoric. AT has been successfully applied to the simulation literature, providing a unique lens for understanding a complex activity with multiple participants, rules and tensions . AT has also been used to inform complex interprofessional team debriefings, providing a way to potentially reframe observations and interactions in complex social settings, prioritise and identify additional topics for debriefing, and facilitate the identification of factors that promote or impede patient safety …”