Broadening Horizons: a 3-month structured webinar series for undergraduate and postgraduate plastic surgery education

Abstract

Abstract Background We created a 3-month webinar series, entitled Broadening Horizons, which explored plastic surgery principles from each subspeciality according to the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) for plastic surgery. This article reports on our experience of producing a teaching programme, its impact on our delegates, and provides a useful guide to creating future webinar series in plastic surgery and other specialities. Methods Pre- and post-course questionnaires were used to perform a needs analysis, collect feedback and assess our delegates’ career interests and perceptions of plastic surgery. Delegates rated their responses on 5-point Likert scales. Delegates also undertook a 60-question pre- and post-course exam to test their knowledge. Results One thousand eight attendances were recorded for the entire 16-part webinar series. Sixty-three (53–73) delegates, including undergraduate, postgraduate and international students, attended each lecture on average. Seventy-five percent of delegates felt they had previously received inadequate plastic surgery teaching. Ninety-six percent were satisfied or very satisfied with Broadening Horizons. Confidence in their knowledge of plastic surgery increased significantly from 2 (1–3) (not very confident) to 3 (2–5) (somewhat confident) (p = 0.01). Post-course exam scores increased significantly from 49% (32–67) to 56% (23–85) (p = 0.05). Career interest and positive perceptions were maintained. Conclusions This is the first webinar series to provide undergraduates and postgraduates plastic surgery teaching based on ISCP learning objectives. The series increased delegates’ knowledge and confidence in their understanding of plastic surgery. This article describes the 5-E-Z step guide to developing future teaching programmes similar to Broadening Horizons. Level of evidence Not ratable