Recreating The Live Surgical Training Experience, Online

The Challenge

For more than 100 years, surgeons have learned and honed their skills by observing their peers at close range as they operate. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the search for safer options that can replicate an in-person experience. In a huge country like India, even without COVID-19, the need has grown to extend the reach of surgical training to many more surgeons practicing throughout the nation, many in areas far from the major cities.
    
Tech Care for All Approach

A global top-ten medical device company asked Tech Care for All to test a hypothesis. With a range of products used by surgeons in laparoscopy and other minimally invasive endoscopic procedures, company leadership in India wanted to explore whether they could reach exponentially more obstetric-gynecologist surgeons through a centralized, online version of live surgery training.

Tech Care for All worked with the company and coordinated with all stakeholders involved to design a pilot involving a live surgery webcast. To do so, Tech Care for All first created a Live Surgery page on our Medical Learning Hub: a “micro-site” dedicated to providing surgeons of all experience levels the opportunity to train side-by-side, on-line with a top expert. This site was then populated with specific courses. The aim was also to enable surgeons in remote locations, who have fewer opportunities for in-person training even without COVID-19, to virtually experience an operating theatre setting and interact with experts online. 

TC4A India then launched a digital marketing campaign to spread the word. Through digital marketing, TC4A India reached more than 72,000 doctors for the first course, a live online demonstration of total laparoscopic hysterectomy.  

The Result
About 600 doctors registered for the webcast—principally surgeons and obstetrician-gynecologists. 
281 registrants attended the nearly 4-hour event, joining from diverse regions of India, with a small percentage from other countries also joining.  Thanks to the company’s sponsorship, doctors were able to participate at no charge.
We used surveys to glean insights from the participating doctors, who rated the event highly. It was exciting to confirm that this interactive online re-creation is a feasible, attractive and cost-effective alternative to in-person surgery training.