Single-Center Pilot Evaluation of Virtual Vascular Surgery Rotation in Retention of Knowledge and Skills

The COVID-19 pandemic substantially disrupted surgical education, primarily by limiting in-person rotations, prompting the development of virtual learning platforms. The University of California Davis Vascular Surgery Department piloted a two-week virtual vascular surgery rotation to evaluate its effectiveness in improving surgical skills and knowledge retention among fourth-year medical students nationwide.

Five medical students from across the United States enrolled and participated in the virtual rotation. Baseline assessments were obtained, including a 37-question multiple-choice examination covering core vascular topics and timed evaluations of one-handed and two-handed knot-tying skills. The virtual curriculum included interactive sessions, such as case conferences, virtual rounding, faculty- and resident-led didactics, and journal clubs, as well as non-interactive components (readings, recorded surgical videos, and written assignments). Students were reassessed post-rotation and at six months. Statistical analysis was performed using mean comparisons and Fisher's exact testing, with significance set at p<0.05.

Students demonstrated statistically significant improvements in both one-handed and two-handed knot-tying skills at the two-week and six-month time points compared to baseline (p<0.05). Knowledge scores improved at two weeks (p=0.012) but declined by six months; there was no significant difference from baseline (p=0.32). All students remained above baseline in both skills and knowledge at six months despite measurable regression from the two-week assessment. Interactive sessions were rated more favorably than non-interactive activities (p=0.003). All participants reported that the rotation met expectations.

Virtual education has become an integral part of modern education, including the surgical realm. A virtual surgical rotation can produce sustained progress and improvement in surgical skills and knowledge base. While knowledge retention may decline over time with the virtual format alone, this only reinforces the need for multimodal education elements and long-term learning that may incorporate reading and continued clinical/surgical exposure. Interactive components appear to be critical to the perceived educational value of virtual surgical rotations as well.