Utility of a webinar to educate trainees on UK core surgical training (CST) selection – A cross sectional study and future implications amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background The application process for Core Surgical Training (CST) in the United Kingdom (UK) is competitive and hence, careful preparation is required for trainees to obtain their posts of choice. There are multiple resources for preparation for selection including face-to-face courses and online question banks, however there is a paucity of webinars to educate trainees. With the cancellation of such courses due to social distancing restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, this cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the usefulness of a webinar to educate trainees on CST selection in the UK. Materials and methods A free online webinar was held on a single day by a second year core surgical trainee and was attended by 111 junior doctors. Beforehand, all attendees were invited to complete a survey on Google Forms (Google, USA) to ascertain their level of experience with webinars, obtain demographic information and elicit their level of knowledge about CST selection using a 1–5 Likert scale. Results Most attendees were in Foundation Year 2 (38.7%) and many had not previously attended a webinar as part of CST application preparation (93.7%). Over half of respondents (55.0%) preferred a webinar over a face-to-face tutorial, appreciating the flexibility, convenience and zero financial cost associated. Many candidates received minimal advice on CST application by their Foundation School (47.7%) and 50.5% of respondents rated their confidence on the application process at ‘3 out of 5.‘ Conclusion Our study suggests webinars have been underused in preparation for CST applications. Traditional courses and advice from colleagues are more popular ways in which applicants prepare for selection. However, given the degree of uncertainty surrounding the return of face-to-face courses due to the Covid-19 pandemic, preparation for CST application may become increasingly reliant on online materials, which may result in an increased demand for high quality, engaging and informative webinars.

Web-based Seminar - New Source of Qualitative Study: Data Collection during the Pandemic of COVID-19

“…Additionally, various discussions on the use of webinar as digital tool in educating medical trainees, such as on Core Surgical Training (CST) selection, provision of support and preparation for plastic surgery examination, and to deliver lectures to improve learning experiences of medical residents in the U.K. (Mayorga et al, 2014;N. M. Patel et al, 2020;Reissis et al, 2020).…”

Utility and perceptions about web-based academics among physicians during COVID-19 pandemic

“…found webinars being less utilized for different learning purposes in comparison to popular traditional ways. [ 25 ] Review by Ali et al . revealed free webinars make more training hours available for surgery trainees during COVID pandemic.…”

Organising a Web-Based Conference

“…The surgical fraternity has adapted very well to this new situation by having various teaching activities on a virtual video conferencing platform. Conducting a conference is one such activity [ 1 – 3 ].…”