Adopting new technology is crucial to surgeons’ training, says report

Technology enhanced training should be integrated into surgical training alongside hands-on experience, the report of a special commission has recommended.

The FOS: TEST (Future of Surgery: Technology Enhanced Surgical Training) Commission, convened by the Association of Surgeons in Training and the Royal College of Surgeons of England, was set up to identify unmet surgical training needs in the wake of the covid pandemic, map these to patient and trainee pathways, and identify potential technological solutions.

In its report, published on 9 August,1 the commission noted that more than 1.5 million fewer operations have involved a trainee surgeon than in equivalent periods before the covid …