Strengthening Open-access Surgical Education: A Curriculum Review Of Surghub Modules

Strengthening Open-access Surgical Education: A Curriculum Review Of Surghub Modules

Dáire Goodman , Sara Mohan, Ines Perić, Léa Simon, Jackie Rowles, Eric O’Flynn
Institute of Global Surgery, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland; Global Surgery Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland; School of Nurse Anaesthesia, Texas Christian University, Forth Worth, United States

Introduction: To meet the surgical training needs of Low-and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), digital education platforms must offer both high-quality and context-appropriate content. SURGhub aims to provide surgical teams in LMICs with accessible, open-access training material across the full spectrum of surgical care. As the platform grows, there is a need to evaluate the breadth and distribution of content offered to ensure equitable representation across all surgical domains and learner levels.

Aim: To assess whether SURGhub Level 2 modules provide adequate breadth of content for early postgraduate learners across the surgical team when bench-marked against international curricula.

Methods: All Level 2 SURGhub modules available in March 2025 were reviewed and mapped to four curricula: MRCS (surgery), MCAI (anaesthesia), RCPI BST (obstetrics and gynaecology), and IFNA (perioperative nursing). Modules were categorised by competency domain, and knowledge gap priority was assigned (Critical, High, Moderate, Low) based on coverage.

Results: SURGhub demonstrates strong coverage in core domains for surgery. However, critical gaps persist in antenatal care, early pregnancy, obstetric emergencies, and perioperative nursing roles (scrub, circulating, recovery). Anaesthesia shows robust representation of airway management and crisis resource management but limited coverage of paediatric and obstetric anaesthesia, sedation, and statistical methods.

Conclusion: SURGhub is a transformative open-access platform with global reach and high learner engagement. Curriculum mapping highlights areas of strength and priority gaps, providing a roadmap for targeted content development. Addressing these gaps will ensure SURGhub evolves into a comprehensive, equitable resource for postgraduate surgical team training worldwide.

Keywords: Surgical Training, SURGHub, Surgical Curriculum