Intelligent Tutoring Systems: Re-envisioning surgical education in response to COVID-19.

COVID-19 has presented a series of unique challenges to surgical education In the face of the global pandemic, access to traditional training techniques is limited As health and safety have become top priorities, surgical residents have been reassigned to COVID units and most elective surgeries have been either postponed or canceled The current global pandemic provides an opportunity to re-examine surgical education As many technical skills training programs are temporarily put on hold, residents, as well as medical students, are concerned about their ability to acquire the necessary skillsets to allow them to provide excellent care to their patients Simulators can be used to help trainees become familiar with specific surgical procedures, analyze 3D anatomical structures, and practice technical skills in risk-free environments Intelligent tutoring systems are automated teaching platforms capable of providing individualized performance feedback to learners using a variety of simulators The authors are not advocating for the replacement of the present educational paradigms by automated systems They recognize that human interaction is vital to learning (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)