Frontiers in Medicine (Nov 2024)

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgical education and training programs in Latin America: a systematic review

  • Felipe Loza Hernandez,
  • Pamela Ochoa Lantigua,
  • Vanesa Puga Rosero,
  • Sebastian Jara Jimenez,
  • Mateo Carrera Cajamarca,
  • Jose E. Leon-Rojas

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2024.1499436
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges to surgical training, demanding a balance between theoretical and practical knowledge, especially in Latin American countries. Therefore, our aim was to characterize the challenges faced by surgical education in these countries.MethodsA systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Scopus, and the Virtual Health Library on March 23, 2022, yielding 2,838 articles. Articles were filtered by two independent reviewers focusing on the effect of the pandemic in surgical education.ResultsA total of 31 articles were selected; 54.83% of surgical programs reported a reduction in surgical involvement by trainees. First-year residents were the most affected, with some surgical residency programs forced to shift their residents to take care of COVID-19 patients; additionally, in 67.74% of cases, online courses and virtual simulation was implemented. Most of the residents had a positive opinion regarding virtual lectures but considered that their surgical skills were affected.ConclusionThe development of surgical skills was hindered by changes in surgery prioritization, techniques, and a decrease in caseload. The pandemic also caused a reliance on virtual formats for education and patient care. This shift created irregularities in training but increased opportunities for alternate activities.

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