Letter: The Brown Student Neurosurgery & Neurology Research Conference: A Model for Student-Centric Neurosurgical Research Dissemination in the Virtual Conference Era

To the Editor: The challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic, including social distancing and travel restrictions, have impelled the growth of virtual research conferences.1-4 At Brown University, we decided to transition our nationwide Student Neurosurgery and Neurology Research Conference (SNRC), hosted in-person in 2019 and 2020, to a virtual format for 2021.5 In this correspondence, we describe lessons learned from hosting the 2021 SNRC, attendee perspectives on virtual conference programming, COVID-19's impact on medical student involvement in neurosurgical research and experiences, and future directions for remote neurosurgical student opportunities. OVERVIEW OF 2021 BROWN SNRC The SNRC was created at Brown in 2019 with the ambition of developing a conference “by students, for students.”6 Our goals in organizing the conference included providing opportunities to practice presenting research in a “lower stakes” setting, facilitating student networking and collaboration, and bolstering medical student interest in neurosurgery. For our in-person conferences in 2019 and 2020, we hosted a poster session and, for top-rated abstracts, a podium presentation session. We also implemented hands-on workshops in skills such as suturing, lumbar punctures, and craniotomy drilling. We conducted our 2021 conference (January 9, 2021) virtually through Zoom (Zoom Video Communications), using screen-sharing for presentations. In total, we hosted 115 medical students from 54 schools, 23 states, and 7 countries (United States, Botswana, Canada, Colombia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey). We used Twitter (Twitter) and e-mails to medical school neurosurgery interest groups to promote the conference and collected abstract submissions that were judged by Brown neurosurgery faculty and residents. Ninety-six abstracts were delivered as oral presentations across 5 concurrently running subspecialty-themed rooms (vascular, tumor, spine, functional/pediatrics/trauma, and socioeconomics; Figure). Presentations were shared among attendees through Google Drive (Google), and a Slack workspace (Slack Technologies) was used for real-time attendee communication, networking, and troubleshooting. We additionally hosted 5 faculty keynotes and breakout sessions with Brown neurosurgery residents.FIGURE.: Conference schedule for 2021 SNRC. Schedule for the 2021 SNRC, which included opening addresses from departmental chairs, 5 concurrent subspecialty-themed oral presentation sessions, optional breakout rooms with residents focused on residency applications and career decision making, a plenary session for top-rated abstracts, and concluding keynote addresses from local and external faculty.SURVEY OF SNRC ATTENDEES We administered a survey using SurveyMonkey to medical student attendees, which received 51 responses (Tables 1 and 2). A plurality was in their second year of training (37.3%). Seventy-five percent indicated neurosurgery as their primary specialty interest. Overall, 90.2% reported that the conference fulfilled their main reason for attending, rating the conference as good (29.4%) or excellent (62.7%). 86.3% of attendees indicated that the conference further increased their interest in neurosurgery, including at Brown (82.4%). TABLE 1. - Survey Responses From 2021 SNRC Attendees Question Responses What year are you in your medical training? First year 9 (17.6%) Second year 19 (37.3%) Third year 8 (15.7%) Fourth year 3 (5.9%) Other (eg, MD/PhD) or not specified 9 (23.5%) What is your gender identity? Male 27 (52.9%) Female 21 (41.2%) Not specified 3 (5.9%) How did you hear about this conference?a From my school's neurosurgery or neurology interest group 27 (52.9%) E-mail 20 (39.2%) From a fellow medical student 13 (25.5%) Twitter 2 (3.4%) How well did the conference fulfill your main reason for attending? It did not at all, did not, or somewhat fulfilled my reason for attending 46 (90.2%) It fulfilled or very much fulfilled my reason for attending 1 (2.0%) Not specified 4 (7.8%) How would you rate your conference experience? Very poor, poor, or fair 0 (0.0%) Good or excellent 47 (92.2%) Not specified 4 (7.8%) Has this conference increased your interest in neurosurgery? Yes 44 (86.3%) No 4 (5.9%) Not specified 3 (7.8%) Has this conference increased your interest in neurosurgery at Brown? Yes 42 (82.4%) No 6 (11.8%) Not specified 3 (7.8%) Before the 2021 SNRC, have you attended any other entirely virtual research conferences? Yes 21 (41.2%) No 26 (51.0%) Not specified 4 (7.8%) Did you use the Slack channel during the SNRC? Yes 29 (56.9%) No 16 (31.4%) Not specified 5 (9.8%) How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your interest in neurosurgery? Decreased interest 0 (0.0%) Did not affect interest 39 (76.5%) Increased interest 6 (11.8%) Not specified 6 (11.8%) COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; SNRC, Student Neurosurgery and Neurology Research Conference.aAnswers to this question were not mutually exclusive.Summary of survey responses from 2021 SNRC attendees. Percentages may not add up to 100% because of rounding. TABLE 2. - Perceptions of Virtual Conferences and Impact of COVID-19 on Neurosurgical Medical Student Education from 2021 SNRC Attendees Question Unable to do so Able to, but less well than in-person Able to just as well as an in-person conference Able to better than an in-person conference N/A Please rate how well you were able to do the following activities, as applicable, during the SNRC compared with an in-person research conference Travel to or gain access to the research conference 4.3% 4.3% 21.3% 70.2% Afford research conference–related expenses (eg, travel, housing, etc.) 2.1% 0.0% 6.4% 91.5% Network with other student conference attendees 8.7% 73.9% 8.7% 8.7% See research presentations 0.0% 8.7% 65.2% 26.1% Learn about novel research in the field of neurosurgery and/or neurology 0.0% 4.3% 76.6% 19.2% Present your own research as a poster or oral presentation 4.8% 4.8% 57.1% 33.3% Obtain feedback or receive helpful questions on your research 12.2% 36.6% 43.9% 7.3% Get ideas or suggestions for further research based on your work 14.3% 26.2% 42.9% 16.7% Engage in training workshops or sessions 34.1% 27.3% 29.6% 9.1% Get hands-on practice or training 75.6% 15.6% 4.4% 4.4% Question Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree Rate how much you agree/disagree with the following statements I appreciated presenting my research through an online, web-based platform 0.0% 2.4% 7.3% 39.0% 51.2% It was challenging to network in the virtual conference 2.3% 14.0% 7.0% 62.8% 14.0% The conference was more accessible as a virtual conference than it would have been if it was in-person 2.2% 2.2% 17.4% 23.9% 54.4% Travel or conference costs sometimes affect my ability to attend in-person conferences 0.0% 9.1% 4.6% 36.4% 50.0% Question Unable to do so Able to do so, but less effectively No change in ability to do so Better able to do so Much better able to do so Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, how well have you been able to engage in the following activities related to neurological or neurosurgical research? Start research projects 6.8% 36.4% 43.2% 6.8% 6.8% Engage in bench laboratory research 41.9% 34.9% 20.9% 2.3% 2.3% Engage in clinical research 11.6% 30.2% 41.9% 9.3% 9.3% Analyze data 4.6% 13.6% 54.6% 6.8% 6.8% Publish research findings 2.3% 20.5% 59.1% 4.6% 4.6% Present research 9.1% 31.8% 25.0% 4.6% 4.6% Question Greatly decreased or halted Decreased Neither increased nor decreased Increased Greatly increased How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your ability to engage in the following neurology/neurosurgery-related learning experiences compared with before? Shadow neurosurgery faculty 41.9% 34.9% 18.6% 2.3% 2.3% Attend neurosurgery professional conferences 11.6% 41.8% 20.9% 18.6% 7.0% Work with neurosurgery patients 45.2% 33.3% 16.7% 2.4% 2.4% SNRC, Student Neurosurgery and Neurology Research Conference.Summary of survey responses from 2021 SNRC attendees relating to perceptions of virtual conferences and impact of COVID-19 on neurosurgical medical student education. Percentages may not add up to 100% because of rounding. For 51.0% of attendees, the SNRC was their first virtual conference. Students indicated that obviating the need for travel-related (70.2%) and conference-related expenses (91.5%) were benefits compared with in-person conferences. 86.4% of students cited travel or conference costs as barriers to prior conference attendance, and 78.3% stated that the virtual format improved accessibility. Attendees believed that the conference format did not affect their ability to learn about novel neurosurgical research (76.6%) or receive feedback (43.9%). However, issues raised by respondents included more limited networking (82.7%) and hands-on training (61.4%). Finally, we surveyed participants about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical student opportunities for research and clinical exposure in neurosurgery. 76.5% of students stated that the COVID-19 pandemic did not affect their interest in neurosurgery. However, during the pandemic, respondents reported a decreased ability to participate in basic (76.8%) and clinical research (42.7%). Moreover, students reported that the pandemic decreased their ability to shadow neurosurgical faculty (76.8%), attend conferences (53.4%), and work with neurosurgical patients (78.5%). CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS There are several takeaways from our experience hosting the 2021 SNRC at Brown and the perspectives of medical student attendees. First, student-centric conferences can fill an important niche for medical students interested in neurosurgery, such as meeting like-minded colleagues and presenting research in preparation for professional society meetings. With 90.2% of attendees saying that the SNRC fulfilled their primary reason for attending, we hope that our conference may serve as a model for neurosurgical student conferences hosted by other schools. Second, our conference's transition to a virtual setting benefited from the integrated utilization of several free-to-use technology platforms (Zoom, Slack, Twitter, and Google Drive) and a scheduling system involving concurrent subspecialty-based podium presentation sessions. Third, the COVID-19 pandemic has hindered students' ability to participate in neurosurgical research and clinical work, which is consistent with similar survey study findings.7 Finally and most importantly, we believe that virtual student-centric neurosurgical meetings such as the SNRC represent a promising platform for democratizing access to neurosurgical education and research.8 78.3% of student attendees indicated that the virtual format improved accessibility while maintaining many of the previously cited benefits of the conference. This was reflected by a 3-fold increase in attendance compared with our earlier in-person meetings,5 mediating an international exchange of student ideas and research across 7 countries. Accordingly, we aim to host the 2022 SNRC as a hybrid in-person/virtual meeting. We believe that virtual student-centric research meetings are an important avenue for bolstering student interest and accessibility to neurosurgery, a specialty that has been shaped by people from myriad localities, walks of life, and levels of training. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has forced all of us to adapt our daily lives, one potential benefit may be the opportunity to expand our tools for medical student neurosurgical education using virtual platforms.

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