Digital Education in General Thoracic Surgery: A Narrative Review

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Digital Health

Background:

• Advanced technologies have led to new programs in surgical education.
• A comprehensive review of digital education in general thoracic surgery is lacking.
• This review identifies current digital education applications in the field.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and review the current applications of digital education in general thoracic surgery.
• To provide a comprehensive overview of digital learning tools and their use.
• To highlight areas for future research in digital surgical education.

Main Methods:

• A narrative review of the literature was conducted.
• Searches included keywords for general thoracic surgery and digital education (e-learning, virtual simulation) up to September 2021.
• Thirteen studies meeting inclusion criteria were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Studies involved undergraduate and postgraduate surgical education.
• Educational objectives included theoretical knowledge, technical skills, or both.
• Virtual reality and computer-based simulations were used for technical skills training (e.g., bronchoscopy, chest tube insertion).
• Eight studies reported improvements in knowledge or skills post-training, but lacked control groups.

Conclusions:

• Digital education is being applied in various aspects of general thoracic surgery training.
• Current evidence suggests potential benefits for knowledge and skills acquisition.
• Further randomized controlled studies are needed to establish superiority and guide future development.