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. 2024 Sep 30;16(9):e70579.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.70579. eCollection 2024 Sep.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Online Targeted Education Programme on Vascular Surgery Aimed at Early Postgraduate Doctors

Siddhant A Pherwani  1 , Saad Ahmed  2 , Aditya Gangal  3 , Akash Doshi  4
Affiliations

Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Online Targeted Education Programme on Vascular Surgery Aimed at Early Postgraduate Doctors

Siddhant A Pherwani et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Introduction Mind The Bleep (MTB) is a junior doctor-led online education organisation that produces free open-access medical education (FOAMed) resources. This paper describes MTB vascular surgery online education programme. The target audience was early postgraduate doctors completing a rotation in vascular surgery. The aims were to increase participant confidence in basic vascular surgery topics and better prepare them for their role in vascular surgery. Methods Speakers included foundation doctors, vascular speciality registrars, consultant vascular surgeons, and a vascular nurse specialist. Post-webinar feedback surveys presented as a five-point Likert scale were used to assess the effectiveness of the course. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to analyse the data. Results Over three months, from March to June 2022, nine one-hour targeted education sessions were conducted, with a total of 564 participants. Post-session feedback was obtained from 364 participants (64.6%). There was a significant increase in the participants' level of confidence in the topic seen across all sessions (p <0.05). The participants rated webinars highly in the domains of engagement (mean 4.31), helpfulness of the content (mean 4.50), and interest (mean 4.39). From the cohort, 200 participants provided feedback on whether attending the webinar better prepared them for a vascular surgery rotation, with 66.5% (n = 133) reporting yes. Conclusion The MTB vascular surgery online education program successfully increased participants' confidence and their preparedness for a role in vascular surgery. As a result, it is a useful adjunct to undergraduate surgical education.

Keywords: foundation doctor; medical education; online education; surgical education; vascular surgery.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Mean engagement ratings on the Likert scale across webinars
Figure 2
Figure 2. Mean interest ratings on the Likert scale across webinars
Figure 3
Figure 3. Mean helpfulness ratings on the Likert scale across webinars
Figure 4
Figure 4. A bar chart illustrating the breakdown of feedback responses to the question ‘Do you feel this webinar has better prepared you for a job as a junior doctor in vascular surgery?’
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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