Distance mentoring in advanced minimally invasive surgery in the Caribbean: A model for low-resource environments

Abstract

Advanced minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is not universally available in the Anglophone Caribbean, partly due to a shortage of trained laparoscopic surgeons. However, we have witnessed new opportunities for MIS advancement as we enter a period of rapid change in healthcare education. In this paper, we discuss the concept of distance mentoring and the opportunities to promote advanced MIS in the Caribbean. We believe that, if carefully and effectively administered, distance mentoring has the potential for widespread utility, but it requires a change in institutional and medical culture from direct personal training to one that also actively supports distance mentoring.

Keywords

• caribbean
• electronic
• laparoscopy
• mentor
• minimally invasive surgery