Virtual Education is the Need of the Hour for the Global Gastroenterology Community: A Survey of Leaders of Professional Gastroenterology Organizations

Background and Aims: Since the onset of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been a significant opportunity to leverage virtual platforms for communication and dissemination of knowledge. An online survey was conducted to examine the viewpoints of World Gastroenterology Organization (WGO) leaders concerning the necessity, primary priority areas, and implementation strategies for a virtual global gastroenterology educational program. Methods: We conducted a survey of leaders of WGO member societies to assess their opinions on creating opportunities for global education using virtual platforms, identifying practical implementation steps and priority educational areas. Results: Responses were obtained from 57/117 (48.7%) contacted leaders with 56/57 (98.2%) identifying such a need. Five mutually exclusive priority educational topics were proposed in the survey: clinical gastroenterology, endoscopy, nutritional support, research methodology, and professional development. Overall, most participants prioritized clinical gastroenterology (45/57; 78.9%) and endoscopy/hand skills (27/57; 47.3%) as educational topics to be addressed by the virtual global gastroenterology educational program. A majority of WGO member society leaders surveyed favored monthly teaching activities (33/57; 57.8%), ideally carried out between 1500-2100 local time (31/57; 54.3%), ideally with no administrative fees (47/57; 82.4%). Conclusions: This truly global survey of WGO member societies achieved a good response rate and provides important insights into the need for and scope of future virtual education programs under the aegis of the WGO.