What Could the Future of Surgical Training Look Like?

Virtual Reality has been a trend for events for around a decade now, and it has an opportunity to break out in the medical industry. Healthcare leaders think that VR could be used for surgical trending. Justin Vara of Osso VR spoke at SXSW, and his organization won the Innovation Award for VR, AR, and MR. He made a fascinating and thorough case that VR can help with surgical training. They secured additional funding last week so, this startup will only grow.   

To maintain current trends, surgeons should discover and rehearse the latest innovations. Healthcare embraces technology for medical advancement. VR is not just for entertainment but for helping people. What is the best way to solve this problem? These are some of the paraphrased points Vara touched upon during his talk at the conference:

How Are Healthcare Workers Trained  

How does the healthcare industry train medical professionals in learning surgical techniques? The current training model is basically “watch it once and do it again.” The origins of surgical training were fascinating. It was done with one-on-one apprenticeships, which would follow an expert for at least a year or even a few years to learn what to do. There was a hierarchy from simple to complex procedures that surgeons could work on. Various levels of surgery had more responsibility and would manage below them.   

What Are the Issues with Training?  

There is too much to know, and every potential scenario is considered. Recent surgery is overly complex with robots and minimally invasive surgery; navigation and a patient-first determination can be more challenging to learn. Typically, a surgical student will have to operate on between a dozen to two dozen patients to hit the threshold to be competent to complete a successful surgery. Robotics can have a learning curve of up to 100 cases!   

How does healthcare measure technical training? Not as well as other professions. Pilots get retrained every six months and learn how to land a plane if an engine goes out. Another issue is that different people do different tasks, and it is hard to keep up. UCLA discovered that, on average, one surgeon worked with 25 Surg Techs and 51 anesthesiologists in a month. Also, 30% of medical graduates could not perform without supervision, so there is a learning curve even when on-the-job training is not the best.   

What Does the Data Show Using VR?  

With VR (Virtual Reality) for surgical training, you can train in-person and remotely. Multiple studies from various institutions show.   

• UCLA study 10 trained in person and ten on virtual Reality. Healthcare is about people making judgment calls. Their evaluation system, called OSATs, found VR-trained students scored 10 points better than in person.   

• University of Illinois - Chicago published in Core. Monitored students to see who needed training. Traditional training was 25% completed, but students who trained with VR had a 78% success rate!   

• Wake Forest students found that 100% of the residents recommended VR training. They also did a motion tracker study on surgeons performing surgery and then training in VR. The conclusion in the data was almost the same in both models.   

How Do You Use It?  

This form of collective training unites people at various locations. Surgery can be amusing for the right personalities, and the training should be too to improve concentration and create memorable positive experiences. They are making the technology about accessibility and the needed soft skills training. What kind of troubleshooting should be done? Students can recall what steps must be taken, especially when efficiency and time are required.    

Various generations adapt to VR technology, but there is a distinction between 30 seconds of picking up and adapting to the tech. Construct validity was mentioned and should put naysayers at ease. People learn how to perform surgery on the program if they know how to perform surgery.    

A critical point mentioned was that VR is designed to make surgery work better and not to be a supplement for in-person instruction. With medical advancements in medicine, healthcare institutions should consider the future and the work organizations like Osso VR are doing.   

Since 1988, WSi has recruited healthcare institutions and discovered trends to remain up to date in the medical industry. We do this to help you staff the best candidates for your organization.  Talk to a recruiter today.

Healthcare Ideas and Trends at SXSW 2022

The South by Southwest (SXSW) conference had its first in-person/hybrid event since the pandemic began. The Healthcare industry covered engaging and illuminating topics and panel discussions, everything from experimental Psychedelics to what "post-pandemic world." We wanted to focus on more detailed aspects that reflect trends relatable to us. Their series about "the healthcare road ahead" focused on the future of healthcare and what could come next. Here are the following topics that caught our attention while attending the globally recognized conference:    

What the "She-cession" Will Teach Us About Hiring    

An excellent discussion moderated by the CMO of Indeed. The Covid recession has impacted women, which has affected healthcare and recruiting. The fallout continues as the recovery accelerates as people leaving the workforce are women and women of color even more. The presentation during this panel presented some facts:   

• 70% of women left a role because of a lack of support, flexible work, childcare, and healthcare support.   

• 89% of women say their partner was not as impacted as they were.   

• Women want to be paid more, be happy, have a meaning of belonging, work environment flexibility, and sympathetic managers.    

The panelists discuss what various organizations have done, including scheduling meetings at better times and being deliberate about keeping the parents navigating online learning—doing away with being on camera to monitor productivity. Related to healthcare, one panelist discussed the healthcare industry's challenges and how they overcame those issues. There is a tool one place used that serves job position recommendations to people based on their personality, which increased hiring women. A piece of advice was to ask questions about people being allowed to be their authentic selves at work since they spend so much time there.    

Beyond the pandemic, the issue needs to be resolved to improve the retention of women as leaders, CEOs, corporate, non-profit boards, and this gap will be closed. The major takeaway was it is not up to women alone to fix these issues, but organizations as a collective should, too.    

Hospital Data Transparency During Covid   

This talk might have been the most fascinating of everything we attended. The pipeline between collecting data, parsing it, and releasing it to journalists was an intricate journey. They reflected on the pandemic's beginning. Remember the ventilator crisis? People needed to know how many hospitals did not have data on those and bed counts. States with natural disasters were more likely to have a system like this. They had to organize the detailed information in a daunting task once information was submitted to HHS.   

Most governments at every level needed more organized hospital reporting and comprehensive data like staffing shortages, temporary beds, PPE supplies, etc. Allocating Remdesivir early in the pandemic would be based on people who recently got Covid and not people who had it for a while. Knowing real-time needs would increase or decrease shipping overall saved lives. The streamlined data elements automated it to change the response quickly and took a load off hospitals. Rural hospitals that only had a few cases could face privacy issues.   

They discussed the challenge of releasing data too quickly without confirming but too late for it not to be valuable and out of date. The COVID Tracking Project dashboard featured 70 volunteers taking data at the county level to create a national database for public knowledge. With this information, journalists would be able to inform the public about spikes at the state and local level and combat misinformation.    

The collection and releasing of information shouldn't end post-pandemic. It is vital to keep data active if there is another medical crisis, and it is better to be safe than sorry, as an ill-prepared system has reminded us. It benefits the public. With a system like this, people can track influenza data to be more prepared for flu seasons.   

The next crisis this panel worries about is retaining burned-out staff from a discouraging situation. For burnout, medical professionals need to document their thoughts and know if the system will not collapse of transparency with good journalism can take on misinformation. Most of it moved from HHS to CDC and HealthData.gov. One encouraging form of accountability was reporters comparing different data sources to find discrepancies, which would build trust for transparency.   

In conclusion, the panel suggested this brought several kinds of organizations together in health, policy, technology experts, emergency, and operations and provided needed information for the public. All in all, "demand your data" was a big takeaway.   

Equity: Mindset for Patients and Racial Disparities    

Patient equity is a complex and complicated topic in the healthcare industry. Building trust is the crucial first step for healthcare providers. One panel discussed making clinical trials more equitable to reflect accurately diverse communities. Being data-driven, they suggested making the information meaningful to all patients from effectiveness, adverse effects and needed access. Clinical trials initially consisted of only white men neglecting other people based on gender and race. Expanding the patient field helps healthcare workers provide culturally competent care and inherent biases in healthcare in treating diverse patients.   

Another point made was how to make people healthy in a non-medical way. Therapy beyond medicine and treatment is relevant to patients—partner with community leaders to bring awareness. Social determinacies drive health, and taking on that will lead to equity, both quality of life and length of life. Meet people where they are so they can give the information they need—asking questions about their home, dietary issues, sleeping, or access to transportation, elevated blood sugar. Reach out and educate the Black community about barriers and challenges: food stress trauma and access to insurance. A recent example of this was connecting with institutions in the Black community to help discuss Covid vaccines.   

Medical providers can think about solutions and how to make them sustainable for the community long term. Three key takeaways were bridging the gap for doctors, building trust with patients, and creating solutions catered to the patients. Make sure your team members reflect diversity for intersectionality since people trust others who look the most like them. Ask if the work you do builds bias. Removing colonizing mindset, addressing healthcare deserts with innovative capturing of data, and confronting medical misinformation all close the equity gap. Remember to prioritize healthcare structures in big and small things to continue the advancements.   

How Social Media Can Combat Health Issues  

Social media can be a vital tool in how people can improve healthcare and increase awareness of the public. Medical students are highlighting the ways that health care perpetuates disparities. Social media like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter have become critical for medical professionals to enlighten the public about ongoing discrepancies. They are fighting against medical prejudice and the unique ways that the recent generation of increasing medical professionals oppose systemic differences in medicine.   

Medical equations, for example, that measure kidney function take race into account, making it more difficult for Black individuals to receive kidney transplants. Likewise, early-set Lyme disease rashes look different on darker skin than lighter skin. Black patients tend to get a later diagnosis for this reason. Students didn't learn to recognize this condition. Pulse oximeters had trouble measuring the breathing of specific patients.    

Gamers and influencers have used social media to be an example to followers and form habits that became routines. A gym stream session on Twitch forms a supportive community to ask questions and remove the stigma or embarrassment of working out in a public gym. Sustain mental harmony by playing games and connecting with their community. Likewise, always take the time to reset the moment to take time to unplug, especially before bed.    

HealthTech: AI Diagnosing Alzheimer's, MedTech, and VR Heart Health    

The SXSW conference likes to focus on the future and current trends. What could come next? As the global incidence of autoimmune diseases increases, VR (virtual reality) technology delivers innovative approaches to enhance assessments and deploy refined therapeutic resolutions relevant to our aging population. Medical breakthroughs could occur with virtual reality advancements. Current neuroscience research with breakthrough Virtual Reality technology will affect medicine, clinical care, and personal health and wellness. These inventions will be crucial to enhancing brain soundness and promoting senior care.    

For new devices, MedTech investors look at upcoming products and emerging technologies. If it works and proves it to customers and regulators, can they build it and protect it? Can you get it paid? Will it be profitable? Prove that the product can save money and increase efficiency? Successful companies focus on technologies that they know. They reach out to physicians to see if they would use the potential new product. Allow clinical trial companies to monitor on their own to save money during this process, so funding does not run out. Open the medical records and supporting de-centralized trials can cut costs, too.   

Scientists are on the verge of massive breakthroughs in medicine that would create a new paradigm for healthcare, potentially curing even the most challenging diseases by concentrating on our bodies, genes, and cells. For Alzheimer's Disease and other brain diseases, speech biomarkers are the near future of improved patient outcomes. Pioneering speech-based examinations for neurological & psychiatric disorders, creating authorized biomarkers to catch manifestation via natural language processing and AI. The technology revolutionizes unknown conditions from a clinical trial for Alzheimer's Disease to identifying detailed speech shifts in people. This future could be here before you know it.   

Since 1988, WSi has been recruiting medical professionals and following emerging trends to stay up to date in the health care industry. We do this to make sure we can find the best candidates for your organization. If you are looking for your next role, speak to a recruiter today.

A Beginners Guide to Exercising

Where do you start if you want to work out? Take that first step. When I moved to a more rural community than an urban one in high school, I decided to go on long walks and listen to the radio on a Walkman. When a song I loved pumped me up, I would run through the duration of it. I did this with a few songs and formed a habit. By my senior year of high school, I made strides running cross country. I make sure to jog or walk daily. This is my story about how I became a runner, and it was one decision I made and formed habits over time. Here is how you can start exercising.   

Set Reasonable Goals   

Start gradually and accelerate slowly with all that you do. Allocate yourself an abundance of time to warm up and cool down with leisurely walking or delicate stretching. Find the best time for you; even just 30 minutes a day is fine. A sensible goal of losing weight is at a pace of one or two pounds a week. Create a habit of drinking more water because you will need it. For me, I started slowly and worked my way up.  

Maintain Consistency   

Persistence is key. Find an exercise routine and what works for you. Work in the busy day tips and walk with co-workers. Try a different exercise routine every few weeks. You will want to track your goals to stay motivated and think of the bigger picture. If you lose inspiration, set additional goals, or attempt a new workout. Taking a class at the gym and even going with a friend could help, too. For me, every time the song came on, I would run. I picked a few other songs.   

Accept Being Uncomfortable   

Forming new habits, especially healthy ones, are accessible but challenging. If you switch from taking the stairs instead of the elevator, that can be an adjustment. Walk or ride a bike rather than drive whenever you can. Sore muscles and fatigue will be common symptoms. This feeling is expected, and people will have to comply with it. Know your body. I accepted the fact that sometimes this would hurt.  

But Know When to Take a Break   

You will figure out how your body responds to different situations. Slow down and take a breather if you feel soreness, shorter breath, dizziness, or nausea. You may be forcing yourself too much. Overreaching can happen when your activity becomes extreme for what your body is used to, and performance drags consequently. Respond to your body's clues and know when to slow down. For me, I would slow down and walk when I got side cramps.  

Have Accountability    

Sharing your goals and being honest with others is the way to go. Make a friend, significant other, or co-worker your accountability companion and encourage each other by swapping healthy food tips, shipping motivational quotes, and checking in to see how each other feels or maintains their goals. Someone who can help you achieve your goals makes them easier to accomplish. For me, I told people about this habit, and they would ask me how I was holding up.  

At WSi, we value working out in the morning, after work, or even a few co-workers going on a walk together during our lunch hour. (Some even answer candidate and client phone calls while taking a stroll.)