Shaping the modern spine surgeon: core competencies for a digital era

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an online course to enable orthopaedic surgeons to acquire the core competencies necessary to prevent and treat fracture-related infections (FRI). This study included orthopaedic surgeons and residents from Latin American countries who attended an online course focused on FRI. The online course included: didactic lectures, small-group clinical case discussions, and panel case discussions. The course was delivered using Zoom® platform and designed to address four core competencies: prevention, definition and diagnosis, antimicrobial therapy, and surgical treatment. An online questionnaire was created distributing 16 questions through six clinical scenarios. Participants were invited to answer the questionnaire before and after the course. Sixty of the 78 course participants answered the pre-course, and 42 the post-course assessment. Relative to before the course, the mean post-course assessment score rose significantly for prevention of FRI (4.1 before and 4.5 after; p = 0.014), definition and diagnosis (2.4 before and 3.4 after; p = 0.001), and surgical treatment (2.2 before and 2.8 after; p = 0.011). The final score encompassing all four core competencies also rose significantly (2.7 before and 3.3 after; p = 0.001). The online course on FRI was feasible and effective, significantly increasing course users’ knowledge of overall competency in managing FRI.

Information literacy is an essential competency for locating, evaluating, and using information effectively and ethically. The factual condition at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani Yogyakarta (UNJAYA) shows that many students still experience difficulties in finding, evaluating, and properly using information. According to the UNJAYA Library’s internal report, more than 60% of final-year students struggle to locate relevant scholarly sources and perform proper citation, while 20% of cases are related to plagiarism. This situation contrasts with the ideal condition in which every student is expected to possess adequate information literacy skills to support learning and the development of both academic and professional competencies. This study focuses on the implementation of information literacy within the Basic Literacy course at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani Yogyakarta (UNJAYA). The main research question addresses how information literacy is integrated into the curriculum as part of a compulsory course. The study employs a qualitative approach through literature review, stakeholder analysis, and evaluation of course implementation, with thematic analysis serving as the foundation for data interpretation. The findings reveal that the information literacy program at the UNJAYA Library is not merely an additional service but has been formally recognized as part of the Basic Literacy and Indonesian Language course since 2022. This integration strengthens the role of librarians in supporting student learning and enhances their ability to identify, evaluate, and use information ethically and effectively. The study provides theoretical implications that information literacy should be viewed as a core competency in higher education, as well as practical implications in the form of a learning model that can be replicated by other universities to improve educational quality and student readiness to face information challenges in the digital era. Keywords; information literacy; academic library; UNJAYA; curriculum; digital learning

Teacher Professional Education (PPG) is seen as a strategic instrument to improve the quality of teachers, but factual achievements need to be reviewed further. This study aims to analyze the pedagogic and professional competence of teachers after participating in PPG by examining the relationship between the two in teaching practice. The study uses a quantitative approach with an ex post facto correlational design. The subject of the study is 859 alumni of the Pre-Service PPG of the State University of Malang class of 2022–2023 who have been actively teaching. Data was collected through a Likert scale questionnaire that had been validated by experts, including 23 indicators of pedagogic competence and 25 indicators of professional competence. The analysis was carried out descriptively and inferentially with the Spearman's rho correlation test. The results of the study showed that the pedagogic and professional competence of PPG alumni was in the high category, with the tendency of respondents' answers in the category of agree and strongly agree. The dimension of the use of learning technology obtained the highest score on pedagogic competence, while mastery of teaching materials occupied the dominant position in professional competence. However, the aspect of self-reflection in professional competence is relatively lower. The Spearman's rho correlation test yielded a coefficient of 0.863 (p < 0.001), indicating a strong positive relationship between pedagogic and professional competence. This indicates that mastery of pedagogic aspects is closely correlated with strengthening professional competence, and vice versa. These findings confirm the effectiveness of PPG in equipping novice teachers with core competencies, although it is still necessary to strengthen self-reflection, consistency of technology integration, and balance administrative burden. The implications of this research provide direction for PPG organizers to expand field practices, strengthen teacher guidance, and develop sustainable coaching strategies to produce adaptive teachers in the digital era.

Background: Assessment of orthopaedic surgery trainees is traditionally based on subjective evaluation by faculty. The recent push for value-based health care has placed a premium on improving patient outcomes. As a result, surgical training evaluations for orthopaedic trainees are evolving to include more objective measures to evaluate competency. Purpose: To develop and subsequently demonstrate the efficacy of a novel surgical skills assessment for orthopaedic sports medicine fellows. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: A team of 14 fellowship-trained orthopaedic sports medicine surgeons developed objective scoring rubrics for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and rotator cuff repair (RCR) using a modified Delphi process. Rubrics were designed based on 10 surgical steps with a grading scale (1-5) based on core competencies with a maximum summative score of 50. Fourteen orthopaedic fellows across a regionally diverse group of sports medicine–accredited fellowship programs were invited to complete both an ACLR and RCR in a surgical skills laboratory at the beginning and end of their fellowship year. Individual surgical steps, overall performance, and total procedure time were evaluated by a single sports medicine surgeon for both sessions. Results: Thirteen of 14 fellows completed both pre- and post-fellowship assessments. For the ACLR procedure, the pre-fellowship mean summative score was 25.4 (SD, 4.4) and the post-fellowship mean summative score was 38.6 (SD, 4.1), which was a statistically significant improvement (P < .001). For the RCR procedure, the pre-fellowship mean summative score was 26.6 (SD, 5.4) and the post-fellowship mean summative score was 38.8 (SD, 4.3), which was also a statistically significant improvement (P < .001). The mean time to completion for the ACLR procedure was 82.3 minutes (SD, 4.3 minutes) pre-fellowship, which improved to 69.7 minutes (SD, 11.6 minutes) post-fellowship (P = .002). The mean time to completion for the RCR procedure was 85.5 minutes (SD, 5.0 minutes) pre-fellowship, which improved to 76.4 minutes (SD, 7.0 minutes) post-fellowship (P < .001). Conclusion: This surgical skills program represents the first standardized and reproducible instrument for the evaluation of 2 arthroscopic sports medicine procedures in the United States. Orthopaedic sports medicine fellows improved significantly in aggregate over their fellowship year with regard to the ACLR and RCR. The described program has the potential to serve as both a training tool and formal orthopaedic sports medicine fellow assessment.

The rapid advancement of digital technology has profoundly transformed education and other aspects of life. In the 21st century, digital literacy has become a core competence for secondary school students to navigate academic, social, and professional environments. However, assessment efforts remain inconsistent, as most instruments are designed for university students or teachers. This study aims to identify and analyze research on digital literacy assessment instruments for secondary education through a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) following the PRISMA protocol. Guided by the PICOS framework, 22 articles published between 2021 and 2025 were selected from six international databases (Scopus, ERIC, Google Scholar, SpringerLink, Garuda, and DOAJ Indonesia). The findings demonstrate a rapid increase in research on digital literacy assessment, with the DigComp 2.1 and UNESCO MIL frameworks being the most widely adopted, while several countries, including Indonesia, have developed localized models. Psychometric analyses reveal a methodological shift toward modern approaches such as the Rasch Model, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Aiken’s V, ensuring stronger construct validity. These findings underscore significant implications for curriculum development, educational policy, and learning strategies. Overall, this study strengthens the conceptual and psychometric foundations of digital literacy assessment and offers strategic guidance for developing valid, reliable, and contextually grounded instruments to enhance education in the digital era.

This study aims to identify and analyze the most effective strategies for increasing employee presence in the digital age, while examining their relationship within the framework of core competency theory. The methodology for obtaining data requires a rigorous approach in observing and documenting data, which is then carried out by analytical techniques such as data reduction, visualization, and inference to extract significant findings. The results of the study show that in a dynamic digital era landscape, the implementation of employee development strategies is very important for companies to maintain their relevance, adapt to changes, and engage effectively in competition. In conclusion, employee development strategies generate benefits such as gaining competitive advantage, increasing adaptability, encouraging strong team collaboration, encouraging sustainable career growth, and increasing organizational productivity and performance.&#x0D; Keywords: Employee Existence, Digital Era, Core Competency Theory

9 - Online STEM teaching of practical chemistry: Challenges and possibilities

This paper aims to explore the characteristics and challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI) education in the liberal arts curriculum of domestic universities. The revision of the curriculum to strengthen digital literacy has been in the field of the liberal arts in major universities. However, universities haven’t been aligning their curriculum with the core competencies developed in earlier stages. This has resulted in a disconnect occurring between AI education at the primary/secondary level and the university level. This gap can lead to students struggling to advance in AI-related topics as they transition to higher education. The liberal arts education of universities does not consider or reflect any linkage with the coherent system of the national curriculum, such as the 2022 revised national curriculum, of primary and secondary schools, which prevents the progress of students’ learning agency. For example, universities should take steps to open and run AI-related courses, regardless of government-supported projects, such as software (SW)-centered university projects. In fact, these project-based courses have not successfully addressed the need for a comprehensive AI and digital literacy education within the liberal arts. This paper, therefore, makes the following suggestions. Firstly, the liberal arts curriculum for AI education should restore its essence of humanity, preparing students to critically assess both the benefits and risks of AI in experiencing the digital transition. Secondly, universities should open and support AI-related courses in the liberal arts, ensuring that lecturers and professors receive the necessary resources to teach comprehensive AI education effectively.

In the twenty-first century the medical profession is faced with the challenge to deliver patient-centered care, improve the quality of health care, and deal with the burdens of cost efficiency medicine. Professionalism in health care is an ideal based on social, ethical, scientific, and moral duties and suggestions. In this respect, professionalism, autonomy, and accountability are influenced by different points of interests, such as patient-practitioner relationship, practitioner-hospital interaction, and the practitioner-supplier rapport. Core values, competencies and principles should be reflected upon these influences and questioned towards the individual relations. The manuscript at hand is reflecting current ideas of professionalism in health care in the twenty-first century reviewing current problems focusing specifically on the profession of orthopedic surgeon.

Simulated surgery is part of a growing paradigm shift in surgical education as a whole. Various modalities from cadaver models to virtual reality have been developed and studied within the context of surgical education. Simulation training in spine surgery has an immense potential to improve education and ultimately improve patient safety. This is due to the inherent risk of operating the spine and the technical difficulty of modern techniques. Common procedures in the modern orthopaedic armamentarium, such as pedicle screw placement, can be simulated, and proficiency is rapidly achieved before application in patients. Furthermore, complications such as dural tears can be simulated and effectively managed in a safe environment with simulation. New techniques with steeper learning curves, such as minimally invasive techniques, can now be safely simulated. Hence, augmenting surgical education through simulation has great potential to benefit trainees and practicing orthopaedic surgeons in modern spine surgery techniques. Additional work will aim to improve access to such technologies and integrate them into the current orthopaedic training curriculum.

Background:Spine surgeons complete training through residency in orthopaedic surgery (ORTH) or neurosurgery (NSGY). A survey was conducted in 2013 to evaluate spine surgery training. Over the past decade, advances in surgical techniques and the changing dynamics in fellowship training may have affected training and program director (PD) perceptions may have shifted.Methods:This study is a cross-sectional survey distributed to all PDs of ORTH and NSGY residencies and spine fellowships in the United States. Participants were queried regarding characteristics of their program, ideal characteristics of residency training, and opinions regarding the current training environment. χ2 tests were used to compare answers over the years.Results:In total, 241 PDs completed the survey. From 2013 to 2023, NSGY increased the proportion of residents with >300 spine cases (86%-100%) while ORTH remained with >90% of residents with < 225 cases (p < 0.05). A greater number of NSGY PDs encouraged spine fellowship even for community spine surgery practice (0% in 2013 vs. 14% in 2023, p < 0.05), which continued to be significantly different from ORTH PDs (∼88% agreed, p > 0.05). 100% of NSGY PDs remained confident in their residents performing spine surgery, whereas ORTH confidence significantly decreased from 43% in 2013 to 25% in 2023 (p < 0.05). For spinal deformity, orthopaedic PDs (92%), NSGY PDs (96%), and fellowship directors (95%), all agreed that a spine fellowship should be pursued (p = 0.99). In both 2013 and 2023, approximately 44% were satisfied with the spine training model in the United States. In 2013, 24% of all PDs believed we should have a dedicated spine residency, which increased to 39% in 2023 (fellowship: 57%, ORTH: 38%, NSGY: 21%) (p < 0.05).Conclusion:Spine surgery training continues to evolve, yet ORTH and neurological surgery training remains significantly different in case volumes and educational strengths. In both 2013 and 2023, less than 50% of PDs were satisfied with the current spine surgery training model, and a growing minority believe that spine surgery should have its own residency training pathway.Level of Evidence:IV.

Professionalism is one of the six core competencies of both the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). It is being taught and discussed at the medical school level as well as throughout residency and continues during the lifetime of an orthopaedic surgeon. This paper will review its definition as well as the virtues that are necessary to sustain medical professionalism.