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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2022; 49(05): 676-682
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1756351
Clinical Practice and Education: Original Article

Learners' Responses to a Virtual Cadaver Dissection Nerve Course in the COVID Era: A Survey Study

Jeffrey L. Lisiecki 
1   Section of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
,
Shepard Peir Johnson 
2   Section of Plastic Surgery & Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
,
David Grant 
2   Section of Plastic Surgery & Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
,
Kevin C. Chung 
1   Section of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

Background Virtual education is an evolving method for teaching medical learners. During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, remote learning has provided a replacement for conferences, lectures, and meetings, but has not been described as a method for conducting a cadaver dissection. We aim to demonstrate how learners perceive a virtual cadaver dissection as an alternative to live dissection.

Methods A virtual cadaver dissection was performed to demonstrate several upper extremity nerve procedures. These procedures were livestreamed as part of an educational event with multimedia and interactive audience questions. Participants were queried both during and after the session regarding their perceptions of this teaching modality.

Results Attendance of a virtual dissection held for three plastic surgery training institutions began at 100 and finished with 70 participants. Intrasession response rates from the audience varied between 68 and 75%, of which 75% strongly agreed that they were satisfied with the virtual environment. The audience strongly agreed or agreed that the addition of multimedia captions (88%), magnified video loupe views (82%), and split-screen multicast view (64%) was beneficial. Postsession response rate was 27%, and generally reflected a positive perspective about the content of the session.

Conclusions Virtual cadaver dissection is an effective modality for teaching surgical procedures and can be enhanced through technologies such as video loupes and multiple camera perspectives. The audience viewed the virtual cadaver dissection as a beneficial adjunct to surgical education. This format may also make in-person cadaver courses more effective by improving visualization and allowing for anatomic references to be displayed synchronously.

Keywords

education - learning - anatomy

Authors' Contributions

Conceptualization: J.L.L., S.P.J., D.G., K.C.C. Data curation: J.L.L., S.P.J., D.G. Formal analysis: J.L.L., S.P.J., D.G. Methodology: J.L.L., S.P.J., D.G., K.C.C. Project administration: J.L.L., K.C.C. Writing-original draft: J.L.L. Writing-review & editing: J.L.L., S.P.J., D.G., K.C.C.


Ethical Approval

This study was approved and deemed exempt from our university's Institutional Review Board.




Publication History

Received: 28 December 2021

Accepted: 24 May 2022

Article published online:
23 September 2022

© 2022. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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