Improvement of Surgical Technique and Training in Prestigious Institutions
Recently there have been lots of challenges in the recruitment process for surgeons. Firstly, as demand for surgeons in the medical space has grown, supply may be starting to decrease. Nowadays, there is an increasing demand for healthcare services, especially among the elderly population, and therefore more adequate surgeons are needed in the field. However, surgeons have very different expectations for their career in terms of work-life balance. Additionally, increasing technology means that there is constant need for training as surgeons need to continually be trained on new equipment and technology. Finally, the prestige of an institution (including factors such as the size of the institution and its budget) affects how well the institution is able to recruit (ORManager).
However, because these more prestigious institutions have the financial resources to afford new technology and train their surgeons with new training and techniques for this new technology, there has been an increasing improvement in surgical training in prestigious hospitals and organizations. Technology allows for surgeons’ career expectations (work-life balance) to be met; it allows for workplace efficiency, training opportunities, etc.. It drives surgeon satisfaction, and therefore more prestigious institutions have not struggled to recruit surgeons as much.
What more prestigious institutions are doing differently is that they are moving more toward a multidimensional approach to training. There is more of an emphasis on holistic development of technical and nontechnical skills. Technological integration is allowing for review of surgical procedures which can enhance future surgical performance and improve education (American College of Surgeons). Additionally, there is more simulation-based training which allows surgeons to improve technique without risking patient safety. Some future avenues for technological use for surgical technique improvement includes adoption of OR black box technology which allows for real-time monitoring of surgeons’ movements, allowing for improved performance (American College of Surgeons).
By Devangi Rathi