665 Surgical teaching in times of COVID-19 - The Forth Valley Royal Hospital Experience

Dearie, L; McGivern, K; Wilson, M

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened all aspects of society. Medical education has not been immune to this. Clinical educators have had to enact creative solutions to ensure continued departmental learning and development. We describe our experience in the General Surgery department of a District General Hospital of transitioning to webinar-based teaching. METHOD: 7 tutorials were delivered virtually from April-May 2020. A database was created to store presentations alongside supporting material. An online questionnaire canvassed attendee responses (n = 28) to individual teaching sessions and the methodology of the teaching. RESULTS: 71% of staff responded. 100% of respondents were “very,” or “extremely,” satisfied with the quality of teaching. 79% thought remote access encouraged attendance. Attendance rose from 45-65% to 60-75% through the use of the learning database. 92% wanted this teaching methodology to continue. Specific reference was made in free text responses to the quality, convenience, and utility of the learning database. Maintenance of responsible social distancing was also given as a positive aspect of this teaching method. CONCLUSIONS: We report a successful transition from traditional teaching to a virtual platform as a result of COVID-19 restrictions. Our experience is that high quality teaching can be delivered virtually while encouraging attendance and maintaining social distancing.