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Long-term evaluation of the Hernia Compact course of the German Hernia School

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Abstract

Introduction

Since 2011, the German Hernia Society has developed the German Hernia School (GHS) as a standardized hernia surgery training program for younger surgeons, consisting of the Hernia Compact basic module. It is a standardized three day training program (cadaver workshop, ultrasound simulation training, and hands-on training). After 12 years of experience, a survey was conducted to evaluate the long term effect of this training.

Method

Using an anonymous online-questionnaire, we contacted from September 2023 to October 2023 the Hernia Compact course participants via the congress organizer “Weitmeer” and the German Hernia Society. This online questionnaire contains 18 multiple choice questions regarding participants’ age, gender, professional experience, participation in other modules of the German Hernia School, the effect of the course on their daily practice and their specific interest in hernia and abdominal wall surgery.

Results

A total of 146 participants responded to the anonymous online questionnaire. A majority of 132 of 146 participants (90.42%) responded that this course improved the quality of surgical and hernia training (n = 146, no missing data). 141 of 146 individuals (96.58%) recommended the course to surgical colleagues (n = 146, no missing data). There were 89.73% of participants, (n = 146, no missing data) that developed a specific interest in hernia and abdominal wall surgery after the course. For 78.08% (n = 146, no missing data) of participants hernia and abdominal wall surgery was one of the most important activities in their daily surgical practice.

Conclusion

The standardized Hernia Compact basic course of the German Hernia School appears to have a huge impact on the quality of hernia surgery training in Germany and Austria. It might also help generate a specific interest in hernia surgery among participants.

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Data availability

Data are available on request.

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Acknowledgements

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Funding

No funding has been received.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 3+CHIRURGEN Hernia Center, Klosterstrasse 34/35, 13581, Berlin, Germany

    R. Lorenz

  2. Department of General and Abdominal Surgery, Clinic for General and Abdominal Surgery, University Hospital Brandenburg an der Havel, Hochstrasse 29, 14770, Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany

    R. Lorenz, C. Paasch & R. Mantke

  3. Hernia Center Cologne, PAN-Klinik, Zeppelinstrasse 1, 50667, Cologne, Germany

    B. Stechemesser

  4. Hamburger Hernien Centrum, Harburg (an der Helios Mariahilf Klinik), Stader Str. 203c, 21075, Hamburg, Germany

    W. Reinpold

  5. Hamburger Hernien Centrum, Eppendorf, Eppendorfer Baum 8, 20249, Hamburg, Germany

    H. Niebuhr

  6. Department of General Surgery, Klinik Ottakring, Montleartstraße 37, 1160, Vienna, Austria

    R. H. Fortelny

  7. Medical Faculty, Sigmund Freud University, Freudplatz 3, 1020, Vienna, Austria

    R. H. Fortelny

  8. Department of Surgery, Paracelsus Medical University, University Hospital, Müllner Hauptstrasse 48, 5020, Salzburg, Austria

    F. Mayer

  9. Vivantes Humboldt Hospital Berlin, Academic Teaching Hospital of Charite‘ University Medicine, Am Nordgraben 2, 13509, Berlin, Germany

    F. Köckerling

  10. Faculty of Medicine, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Brandenburg, Germany

    R. Mantke

  11. Faculty of Health Sciences Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany

    R. Mantke

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  1. R. Lorenz
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  2. C. Paasch
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  3. B. Stechemesser
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  7. F. Mayer
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  8. F. Köckerling
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to R. Lorenz.

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Conflict of interest

RL, CP, BS, WR, HN, RF, FM, FK, RM have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

The survey was approved by the ethics committee of Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane on 12 September 2023 (E-01-20230825) and was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration 1975.

Human and animal rights

This article does not contain any studies with directly involving human participants, as it is a review of data already collected in a hernia database.

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Lorenz, R., Paasch, C., Stechemesser, B. et al. Long-term evaluation of the Hernia Compact course of the German Hernia School. Hernia 28, 621–628 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10029-024-02966-5

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