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Facial Plast Surg 2018; 34(04): 341-342
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1667136
Guest Editor Preface
Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Teaching Facial Plastic Surgery

Abel-Jan Tasman
1   Department of Facial Plastic Surgery, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen - ENT, St. Gallen, Switzerland
,
Holger G. Gassner
2   Finesse Center for Facial Plastic Surgery, Regensburg, Germany
3   Department of ORL, St. Elisabeth Hospital, Straubing, Germany
› Author Affiliations
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Publication History

Publication Date:
24 July 2018 (online)

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Abel-Jan Tasman, MD
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Holger G. Gassner, MD

What do this issue of Facial Plastic Surgery that is dedicated to the 2018 EAFPS Annual Conference in Regensburg and the conference proper have in common? Both aim at improving your knowledge in facial plastic surgery and at inspiring you. Both for the journal and for the conference, optimizing the format and content of presentations continues to be a challenge for editors and conference organizers alike. “verba volant, scripta manent” (words fly, writings stay) is reflected in today's need to publish rather than surrender to the ephemeral nature of a presentation at a conference. Even the most stimulating lecture may not be fully remembered, not unlike the achievements of us as surgeons, on whose grandeur Honoré de Balzac commented: The glory of surgeons is like that of actors, who exist only in their lifetime and whose talent is no longer appreciable once they have disappeared. Most of those who teach facial plastic surgery have had no training in teaching skills and face some uncertainties regarding the best way to teach and train facial plastic surgery. A traditional lecture, for example, is considered to be an inadequate medium for the teaching of psychomotor skills at the operating table and therefore coined obsolete by some from a theoretical perspective.[1] [2] [3] Others, however, found traditional lectures to improve performance.[4] From a more practical standpoint, lectures are still accepted as being a good vehicle to bring a specific personal perspective across.[1] Adhering to a four-quadrant cycle of learning has been proposed for teaching facial plastic surgery, too, but it was found that more than three out of four plastic surgery residents preferred skipping the first two quadrants. These are defined as preparation by reading, watching videos, and discussing similar cases and the communication of what performance would be expected from the trainee. Trainees were found to prefer moderating the operation while watching and receiving direct feedback from the lead surgeon while performing the procedure themselves.[5]

Challenging established concepts and striving for improvement is a uniting trait among facial plastic surgeons. Only through critical introspection can we find ways to get better: In the spirit of the late Claus Walter and Tony Bull, we consulted several younger colleagues to learn what we can do to enhance our meetings. Among the comments we received, were most noteworthy:

  1. “Provide variation of the topics and speakers presented and allow for objective and transparent assessment of their quality.”

  2. “Teach in depth anatomy—based surgical techniques for the beginning surgeon.”

  3. “Teach how to start a practice and successfully practice facial plastic surgery.”

  4. “Make it more affordable for our younger colleagues to attend the meetings.”

These points appear relevant: While publications like in the present journal require rigorous quality control through standardized peer-review procedures, our selection processes for speakers call for more objective and transparent criteria. We have, therefore, consulted with a biometrician and have developed a transparent scoring system for the meeting: Each attendee will be able to select her/his top 10 speakers through the congress app. The resulting data will generate a list of presenters with the highest educational value. We hope this will provide a stimulus for all of us to further enhance our didactics. Moreover, a full day committed to teaching the basic surgical principles for the young generation has been added, as well as dedicated sessions how to start a practice; and special discount rates for our young colleagues have been added.

Surgery, clinical skills, patient rapport, and training deserve our continued commitment to finding innovative ways of improvement in our field. We hope that some of the new approaches presented will prove as valuable as the publications in the present issue.