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Learning Surgical Fundamentals In The Digital Age, A Pseudo-systematic Review Of Youtube
Sumaarg Pandya, BS; Nicolás M Kass, BA; Jack K Donohue, BA; Angel Dixon, BA; Jesse A Goldstein, MD, FAAP, FACS
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Department of Plastic Surgery
2024-01-31
Presenter: Sumaarg Pandya
Affidavit:
I agree with the above statement.
Director Name: Dr. Vu T Nguyen
Author Category: Medical Student
Presentation Category: Clinical
Abstract Category: General Reconstruction
Embracing the digital era of medical education, many medical students rely on external resources, notably YouTube, to learn and practice foundational surgical techniques. The quality and sources of these publicly available tutorials have not been previously evaluated. We systematically reviewed all "how-to" suturing videos on YouTube to characterize the current YouTube online medical education landscape that medical students utilize for independent learning of suturing skills.
Utilizing API calls, a comprehensive search on YouTube yielded 800 videos, out of which 310 met the stringent inclusion criteria. These videos were meticulously analyzed, categorizing them based on the suture pattern taught, the background of the instructor, the focus of the YouTube channel, and key metrics like view and like counts. Notably, general surgeons and plastic surgeons emerged prominently, constituting 40% and 13.7% of the total videos, respectively.
The findings unveiled a statistically significant difference in view counts between videos taught by plastic or general surgeons compared to others, suggesting that surgical learners actively seek out content from qualified professionals. Moreover, plastic surgeons, despite being a minority among video producers, were heavily overrepresented, emphasizing their significant influence in shaping the educational landscape for suturing skills on YouTube. This comprehensive overview provides a foundational understanding of YouTube's role in suturing education and provides a foundation for plastic surgeons to consider methods of broadening their educational impact on all surgical learners.
