Implementation and evaluation of a Tele-OSCE in oral and maxillofacial surgery - a pilot report.

Background: The ongoing changes in learning and education towards digitalisation have been rapidly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially in dental education where contact to the oral cavity is an integral part of training the chosen digital examination methods and training formats must undergo high requirements to full fill the goal of a real alternative to face-to-face exams. Therefore, this study compared student performance in a newly developed Tele-OSCE with a prior OSCE examinations in presence within an oral- and maxillofacial surgery curriculum. Methods: Study participants were fourth-year (in a five year curriculum) dental students and board certified maxillofacial surgeons (examiners) that took part in a newly developed Tele-OSCE that comprised three five-minute stations (structured facial examination, management mandibular fracture and squamous cell carcinoma) using the zoom® software. Student performance was measured using validated OSCE-Checklists and compared to a previous OSCE examination from the winter term 2019 with the same OSCE stations that was conducted in presence. Significant differences were tested using the Mann-Whitney U test. Furthermore, the new Tele-OSCE was evaluated by students and examiners using previously developed questionnaires. Results: Sixty-six dental students (study group: n=34, summer term 2021, control group: n=32 winter term 2019) and nine examiners participated in the study. Compared to previous non-pandemic OSCEs, there were no significant (p=0.53) differences in overall student performance. Evaluation of the Tele-OSCE showed that the demonstration and rating of practical skills was limited due to missing standard patients or phantoms, however, students did not fear to be misjudged. The demonstration and rating of anamnestic and consultation competencies was seen as unproblematic by students and examiners. Discussion: This pilot-study showed the feasibility of a Tele-OSCE as a formative examination in dental education. However, both students and examiners felt that the demonstration and assessment of practical skills was limited due the new examination format. Nevertheless, Tele-OSCEs might offer an alternative to enable students to complete their dental training.

Orbital floor fractures: epidemiology and outcomes of 1594 reconstructions.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to retrospectively review the midface and orbital floor fractures treated at our institution with regard to epidemiological aspects, surgical treatment options and postoperative complications and discuss this data with the current literature. STUDY DESIGN: One thousand five hundred and ninety-four patients with midface and orbital fractures treated at the Department of Oral, Cranio-Maxillofacial and Facial Plastic Surgery of the Goethe University Hospital in Frankfurt (Germany) between 2007 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. The patients were evaluated by age, gender, etiology, fracture pattern, defect size, surgical treatment and complications. RESULTS: The average patient age was 46.2 (± 20.8). Most fractures (37.5%) occurred in the age between 16 and 35. Seventy-two percent of patients were male while 28% were female. The most common cause of injury was physical assault (32.0%) followed by falls (30.8%) and traffic accidents (17.0%). The average orbital wall defect size was 297.9 mm2 (± 190.8 mm2). For orbital floor reconstruction polydioxanone sheets (0.15 mm 38.3%, 0.25 mm 36.2%, 0.5 mm 2.8%) were mainly used, followed by titanium meshes (11.5%). Reconstructions with the 0.15 mm polydioxanone sheets showed the least complications (p < 0.01, r = 0.15). Eighteen percent of patients who showed persistent symptoms and post-operative complications: 12.9% suffered from persistent hypoesthesia, 4.4% suffered from post-operative diplopia and 3.9% showed intra-orbital hematoma. CONCLUSION: Results of the clinical outcome in our patients show that 0.15 mm resorbable polydioxanone sheets leads to significantly less post-operative complications for orbital floor defects even for defects beyond the recommended 200 mm2.

Stress distribution is susceptible to the angle of the osteotomy in the high oblique sagittal osteotomy (HOSO): biomechanical evaluation using finite element analyses.

AIM: This computational study aimed to evaluate the influence of the angle of the osteotomy when performing a high oblique sagittal osteotomy over the distribution of stress to the osteosynthesis plates and mandibular segments. Material and methods: For this purpose, a finite element analysis of different combinations was carried out based on the osteotomy angle and mandibular mobilization using Autodesk Inventor® resulting in a total of 72 simulations. To check the correlation between the osteotomy angles with respect to the tension in the mandibular structure in different mobilizations, a student t-test was used. Results: The results of the advancement mobilizations (2.5 mm to 5.5 mm) reported increasing values for tension in the probe of the fourth screw and in the probe of the plate surface as the osteotomy angle increased (p-value <10-8). The results of the setback mobilizations (-2.5 mm to -5.5 mm) show comparable values (p-value <10-8). The resulting contact surface between bone segments varies depending on the osteotomy angle, increasing 44.67% from 45° to 70° and decreasing 22.05% when the angle is reduced to 30°. Conclusion: The angle of the osteotomy is a very relevant parameter in the design of the studied mandibular osteotomy, since the distribution of the reported stresses is substantially susceptible to its variation.

Do they teach what they need to? An analysis of the impact of curriculum mapping on the learning objectives taught in a lecture series in surgery.

Introduction: Curriculum mapping shows concordances and differences between the intended and the taught curriculum. To our knowledge, no previous studies describe the effects that this mapping has on the curriculum. The aim of the present study is to map the content of a lecture series in surgery to the National Catalogue of Learning Objectives in Surgery and analyze the effects this mapping has on the content of the following lecture series. Methods: All lecturers in the lecture series were directly observed by a minimum of two reviewers and learning objectives and the level of competence were documented. After the lecture series, the results were visualized within the catalog of learning objectives and were sent to the lecturers. In the following lecture series, learning objectives were documented correspondingly. Results: In the first lecture series, 47% of the learning objectives were taught. After the mapping, the number of learning objectives that were taught increased to 59% (p < 0.001). The increase was found in all surgical disciplines and in all levels of competences without any changes in the average duration of the lectures. Conclusions: The presented method for mapping a curriculum effectively increased the number of taught learning objectives without requiring longer lecture durations.

Effects and Consequences of Being an OSCE Examiner in Surgery-A Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVE: Even though objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) is a well-investigated format for competency-based practical examination, only a few studies have explored the motivations of OSCE examiners and their opinions, both positive and negative, toward being an examiner. The aim of this study was to gain insights into the views of OSCE examiners using semi-structured interviews. DESIGN: Surgical OSCE examiners were queried at two medical faculties in Germany via semi-structured interviews. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the techniques of structured qualitative content analysis. SETTING: This study was conducted at the medical faculties of the Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany and of the Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany. PARTICIPANTS: All of the study participants were surgeons working at the university hospital of one of the faculties. RESULTS: A total of 29 examiners were queried until a saturation of content was achieved. A critical reflection of one's own teaching was described as a major benefit by most participants. Furthermore, they noted that the standards and competences examined during the OSCE boosted the detail of their teaching sessions in the wards. However, the examiners criticized missed operations due the examination and were not appreciated by superiors for being an examiner. Most of the examiners (22/29) preferred to be an examiner themselves rather than appointing student peer examiners. If they had appointed someone else, that would mean they would miss valuable experiences useful for their own teaching. CONCLUSIONS: Being an OSCE examiner confers several advantages, notably the reflection of one's own teaching, which was described as highly valuable by the examiners.