Abstract
We sought to evaluate the usefulness of a monthly telelecture educational series in
facial plastic and reconstructive surgery for resident education and to identify potential
areas for improvement. A monthly series of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery
telelectures were hosted at our institution between 2016 and 2018. A web-based survey
was sent to 13 residents and 7 invited faculty presenters. Resident survey questions
included rating of presentation topics, interface, networking opportunities, and educational
value. Faculty survey questions included satisfaction, temporal convenience, likelihood
of future telelecture participation, and likelihood of telelecture series implementation
at speaker's home institution. The survey response rate was 100%. All of the residents
expressed satisfaction with topics presented, lecture duration, perceived enhancement
of education, and overall satisfaction with the telelecture series. 46% of residents
indicated that the telelecture format limited networking opportunities. 72% of faculty
reported they would participate in a future telelecture, and 86% indicated interest
in integrating telelectures into their home institution educational curriculum. Live
virtual telelectures effectively allow experienced facial plastic surgeons to share
their operative techniques and management pearls in an interactive and practical format.
This is a contemporary solution to bridging knowledge gaps between expert facial plastic
surgeons from all corners of the world and the next generation of surgeons.
Keywords
education - telecommunication - resident - videoconferencing
