With AO Recon's newly developed online courses, faculty members—wherever they are in the world—can explore different teaching opportunities to disseminate their expert knowledge to a global audience.
Based on the curricula of the on-site courses in hip and knee and in shoulder arthroplasty, AO Recon is developing two new approaches: courses in a hybrid format combining face-to-face, on-site elements with online modules, and purely online courses with a focus on maximizing participant interaction and engagement.
The first hybrid course on principles of total hip and knee arthroplasty took place in August 2020. Over three weeks participants joined five 90-minute online sessions combined with two 120-minute practical exercise sessions on-site in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The event, chaired by Bas Masri (Canada) and Plamen Kinov (Bulgaria), benefited from an eminent group of international, regional, and national faculty. In total, 14 faculty members contributed to this hybrid event. The attendees participated online in interactive lectures, small group case discussions, and live chats. The course concluded with a face-to-face, on-site experience featuring AO Recon Skills Lab exercises with national faculty and participants.
On October 6, a purely online course was conducted. The course was dedicated to complex knee arthroplasty and included three 90-minute sessions addressing revision knee arthroplasty, complex total knee arthroplasty, and complications. Chairpersons Jean-Noël Argenson (France) and Robert Hube (Germany) especially appreciated the participants’ active engagement in the small group discussions and plenary case-based presentations.
Two more online courses will premiere in the framework of the AO Davos Courses 2020:
The new online courses are an excellent addition to AO Recon's standard face-to-face, on-site offerings and help us ensure the cascade of knowledge and skills even in these unprecedented times. Quality of education remains a high priority for us. The medical associations grant continuing medical education (CME) credits for the participation in AO Recon's online courses just like for our conventional events depending on the total contact hours.
Embedded in the virtual conference, The Surgical Treatment Week 2020, and #digitalOU2020, that took place at the end of October, AO Recon conducted several online sessions on total knee arthroplasty and revision. The live broadcasted sessions consisted of demonstrations on anatomical specimens moderated by some of AO Recon's key opinion leaders. The event was a pilot collaboration with Rimasys, a provider of lifelike deformities and complications in human specimens. The sessions engaged participants fully online and concluded with a live broadcast battle between arthroplasty experts who discussed the best surgical solutions for periprosthetic fractures around the knee.
AO Recon will continue to expand its online and hybrid activities and explore additional offerings. If you are interested in contributing to our online and hybrid courses, please contact us at faculty@aorecon.org.
