Why SurgiReal is a Great Fit for Professors

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Being a medical professor today comes with a plethora of challenges, many of which were unheard of only a few years ago. The need to constantly stay up to date with current medical knowledge while remaining tech-savvy enough to navigate virtual classroom settings on top of all the regular burdens of teaching requires one to make wise decisions when it comes to time and energy-management. SurgiReal is here to work alongside instructors in providing you with the best tools for enabling your students’ success.

THE CHALLENGES OF BEING A PROFESSOR TODAY

Effectively educating future practitioners comes at a great cost, not only for students, but equally so for professors and staff. Educators are mandated to bring the student body to theoretical and clinical levels that are deemed acceptable by the governing boards all while working with increasingly restrictive budgets and more demanding administrative and pedagogical tasks. Moreover, professors are often practitioners themselves, juggling multiple schedules, wearing many hats, with little additional time for their personal lives.

DOING MORE WITH LESS - THE DREADED BUDGET CUT

It is commonplace nowadays to hear about permanent budget cuts in various universities and medical training institutions. What once was attributed to the purchasing of educational materials is now reduced or altogether obliterated, replaced by priorities elsewhere within the university. Yet, the need to train skilled workers, especially in the medical field, remains as important and relevant as ever. Besides preparing for lectures, grading papers, coaching TA’s, and researching and applying for funding, professors are also tasked with creating realistic training experiences for strengthening the clinical skills of trainees. It remains the responsibility of the institution to adequately train qualified and confident practitioners for the good of the patients and our society at large.

REALISM OF SIMULATION MATERIALS

Due to lack of funds allotted for these simulative workshops, some professors are spending their limited time hand making some of these materials. Not only is it energy-draining and time-consuming, but the result of the materials also tend to be highly inconsistent, unrealistic, and unrepresentative of live tissue. This underserves the student, who will be poorly equipped for surgical practice in real clinical situations. Additionally, the investment in these materials differentiates the program long-term through outstanding student performance and confidence when interacting with patients. Their confidence reflects the education obtained in these labs at your university.

VIRTUAL LEARNING AND SOLUTIONS

Even pre-Covid, the industry was trending toward an increasingly virtual based learning medium. The need for a remote learning experience have only accelerated the process, bringing more and more students into the virtual classroom setting. Students are no longer geographically required to be in attendance to acquire the knowledge they need to graduate. However, practical clinical techniques such as suturing, excising of moles, and resection of ingrown toenails, cannot simply be taught via a simple PowerPoint presentation. Kinesthetic learning can be even more powerful in creating long-lasting declarative semantic memory and simple audio-visual learning.

How can professors adjust to this ever-changing dynamic, especially when there are hands-on skills to transfer? By adapting to the needs of the students, using all the resources available, making wise decisions about time-management, and providing students with access to the most realistic practice materials available so they can learn correctly the first time. Paying for quality realistic simulation materials will pay dividends to your students’ learning progress, as well as procedural acquisition and mastery.