Episode # 326 • 27 Aug 2026
Strategies for Surgical Training During High-Stakes Operations
How can high-stakes surgical cases be optimized for teaching while ensuring patient safety and trainee growth? On this episode of BackTable Urology, Dr. Ruchika Talwar interviews Dr. Kelvin Moses about intentional strategies for surgical education, especially during complex urologic oncology operations. They discuss workflows that prioritize preoperative planning, structured debriefs, and progressive autonomy for trainees, as well as the importance of psychological safety and open communication with patients and families.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction
02:19 - Teaching In High Stakes Cases
07:57 - Rethinking See One, Do One, Teach One
10:24 - Assessing Trainee Readiness
14:29 - Preop Preparation
16:06 - Teaching Cues in the OR
17:42 - Tips for Trainees
21:40 - Intentional Teaching
24:02 - Teaching Rare and Complex Cases
26:40 - Anticipating Complications and Debrief After Disaster
33:09 - Psychological Safety In the OR
37:41 - Reflections on Past, Current, and Future Training Models
43:56 - Patients And Trainees
46:51 - Takeways
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More about this episode
The conversation explores practical intraoperative teaching cues, tips for trainees such as visualization, recording cases, and repetition, and methods for relating rare cases to more common procedures. Dr. Moses reflects on the strengths and challenges of past, present, and future training models, including the debate over whether surgical education has gone “too soft.” The episode emphasizes the value of mentorship, transparency with patients, and the need to continually adapt surgical training for the next generation.
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