ACS-AEI Research and Development Committee Collaboration Webinar: Simulation Training and Research in Low-Resource Environments

The ACS Division of Education Research and Development Committee presented the fourth collaborative research webinar on March 24, 2022. The presentations outlined the needs and barriers in surgical simulation education and introduced what each AEI is doing to create and implement various low-cost simulation models to their surgical educational programs. The ACS Research and Development Committee thanks the panelists for their participation and the moderator Sharon Muret-Wagstaff, PhD, MPA, committee co-chair, for organizing this stimulating webinar.

The webinar was presented by a panel of three experts with significant experience in simulation-based surgical education. The panel included:

• Luca Morelli, MD, FACS, FASCRS, Surgical Director, EndoCAS, and Vice Head, Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic & Robotic Surgery, University of Pisa, Italy
• Cheyenne C. Sonntag, MD, MS, Fellow, Surgical Critical Care, UCSF Surgical Skills Center, University of California San Francisco
• Rui-Min Diana Mao, MD, LSTAR Surgical Simulation & Education Research Fellow, University of Texas Medical Branch

The webinar was attended by 20+ AEI members who engaged in compelling discussions about simulation training in low-resource environments, and it identified opportunities for collaboration in future simulation research. The simulators presented during the webinar were created inexpensively; however, they have been used for surgical skills training at the presenters’ institutes. These lower-resource simulators may have a great potential to be used at many other simulation centers. Additionally, similar approaches to creating such simulators with a great deal of imagination and creativity may be used for developing new low-cost surgical simulators, and more surgeons can be inspired to push the boundaries of teaching and learning medicine.

If you have questions or would like more information about the Research and Development Committee’s activities, please contact Mark Aeder, MD, FACS, Co-Chair; Sharon Muret-Wagstaff, PhD, MPA, Co-Chair; and Ganesh Sankaranarayanan, PhD, Vice-Chair.