Impact of COVID-19 to Neurosurgical Education: A Systematic Review

Authors

  • Muhamad Thohar Arifin Department of Neurosurgery, Diponegoro University, Kariadi General Hospital, Semarang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2363-8026
  • Jacob Bunyamin Department of Neurosurgery, Diponegoro University, Kariadi General Hospital, Semarang, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9641-0976
  • Yuriz Bakhtiar Department of Neurosurgery, Diponegoro University, Kariadi General Hospital, Semarang, Indonesia
  • Zainal Muttaqin Department of Neurosurgery, Diponegoro University, Kariadi General Hospital, Semarang, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2022.9227

Keywords:

Neurosurgery education, Residency, COVID-19

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted many aspects of healthcare and health education including medical education. Given that neurosurgical training requires direct patient contact, the social distancing policy due to COVID has impacted global neurosurgical education.

AIM: We are conducting a systematic review to determine the impact of COVID-19 on global neurosurgical education.

METHODS: This review adheres to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. The literature search was conducted on three repositories (PubMed, MedRxiv, and bioRxiv) which subsequently screened by two independent reviewers.

RESULTS: Thirteen articles were processed for the systematic review. The impact of COVID-19 has been mainly negative to academic activity due to reduced case number and physical contact hours. Residents were also deployed to provide care for COVID-19-related workload. However, several studies reported a positive impact of COVID-19 on residents’ well-being such as increased personal time. Besides current residents, prospective medical students were also affected by COVID-19.

CONCLUSION: Neurosurgical program directors should initiate the introduction of a flexible policy to accommodate case reduction to meet the board standard and guard residents’ safety and well-being are required to ensure the sustainability of high-quality neurosurgical education.

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Published

2022-04-07

How to Cite

1.
Arifin MT, Bunyamin J, Bakhtiar Y, Muttaqin Z. Impact of COVID-19 to Neurosurgical Education: A Systematic Review. Open Access Maced J Med Sci [Internet]. 2022 Apr. 7 [cited 2026 Oct. 19];10(F):289-96. Available from: https://oamjms.eu/index.php/mjms/article/view/9227

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Systematic Review Article

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