Bryce-Alberti Mayte, Wittenberg Rachel E, Kirsch Michael J, Bollinger Daniel, Winslow Kiana, Hey Matthew T, Rauf Raisa, Alayande Barnabas, Anderson Geoffrey A, Lin Yihan
Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA.
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Am J Surg. 2025 Jan;239:116002. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2024.116002. Epub 2024 Oct 4.
Surgical simulation and video-based learning are limited in lower-resource settings. We sought to develop and assess a series of surgical tutorials using a low-cost simulator.
We created 8 surgical skills and procedures videos using low-cost equipment. We assessed video quality using the DISCERN scale and the Global Quality Scale (GQS).
Videos ranged from surgical techniques to complex procedures. We uploaded these to Youtube and included them in the curriculum of a medical school in Rwanda. Excluding the cost of the kit (25 USD), production costs ranged from 2 to 5 USD. All videos scored a mean DISCERN of 2.44 ± 1.05 and GQS of 3.06 ± 0.90. Generally, these lacked points on providing additional sources of information and addressing areas of uncertainty.
This study addresses the demand for accessible surgical education resources. Using low-cost, standardized materials ensures consistency, democratization of training, and feasibility.