Exploring the Residents' Perspective on Smart learning Modalities and Contents for Virtual Urology Education: Lesson...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Urology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted resident training activities globally.
• Virtual learning programs have emerged as a key alternative for medical education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate urology trainees' perspectives on the usefulness of various smart learning (SL) modalities and content.
• To identify preferred virtual learning formats for optimizing urology education.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, 30-item web-based survey was distributed via Twitter.
• The survey collected data from 501 urology residents across 58 countries between April 4-18, 2020.
• Evaluated resident opinions on modalities (videos, webinars, podcasts, social media) and content (guidelines, surgical videos, case discussions).

Main Results:

• Pre-recorded videos (78.4%) and interactive webinars (78.2%) were rated highly useful modalities.
• Updates on guidelines (84.8%) and surgical videos (81.0%) were the most valued content types.
• Preferred combinations included pre-recorded surgical videos, webinars on clinical cases, and videos on guidelines.

Conclusions:

• This study offers a global overview of effective virtual learning strategies for urology education.
• Findings highlight the importance of prioritizing specific modalities and content to enhance urology resident training.
• The identified preferences for smart learning can inform future virtual education initiatives beyond the pandemic.