Enhancing Global Orthopaedic Education: The Role of Virtual Education Conferences Emphasizing Surgical Management with Limited Resources

Enhancing Global Orthopaedic Education: The Role of Virtual Education Conferences Emphasizing Surgical Management with Limited Resources

Samhita Kadiyala , Emily Powis, Krishna Anand, Sam Simister, Shravya Kakulamarri, Abdoulie Njai, Nikhil Gattu, Bianca Duah, Suhas Velichala, Fernando Carrillo-Villaseñor, Samuel Hailu, Soheil Ashkani-Esfahani, Carlos Prada, Pierre Marie Woolley, Kiran Jay Agarwal-Harding

Purpose: Many orthopaedic surgeons manage complex cases in resource limited settings with few educational opportunities. To give these surgeons a voice and provide education tailored to resource-limited settings, we developed free, multilingual virtual education conferences (VECs) featuring asynchronous recorded didactics and live case discussions.
Methods: In response to our international partners working in resource-limited settings, we organized VECs on trauma, spine, arthroplasty, oncology, pediatrics, and research methodology. Prior to live sessions, curated lectures and articles enabled self-directed learning. Live sessions featured case presentations by surgeons from resource-limited settings, with commentary from international faculty. Surveys collected quality and improvement data.
Results: Twelve VECs were organized from 2021-2024, spotlighting surgeons from countries including Ethiopia, The Gambia, Haiti, and South Sudan. The conferences totalled 3,060 participants with an average of 472 registrants each. The registrants – 47% surgeons, 38% trainees – represented 125 countries, and 86.2% were from low- or middle-income countries. 78 lectures and 27 live sessions were recorded and shared, with multilingual resources for 7 conferences. Live sessions averaged 259 log-ins, with satisfaction averaging 4.6/5. Post-conference surveys found direct impacts on clinical practice and requests for future topics.
Conclusions: Our highly-rated multilingual VECs provided global participants with open access to educational resources and dynamic interactions with international experts. Surgeons shared practical advice on managing complex pathology in resource-limited settings. With a growing network and demand, VECs may help amplify the voices of surgeons serving the vulnerable, and galvanize a community committed to global orthopaedic care through education.

Keywords: virtual education, orthopaedics