The state of the world 2020 brought together the global spine community in an unprecedented way. And not just the spine community: we see all specialties coming together with exceptional agility, level of openness, and a will to help. Results from studies are being shared open access and published at record speed.
With the disruption brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the overwhelming demands on healthcare systems, and the restrictions imposed by governments, also AO Spine had to transform our operations from one day to the next. Travel was halted, face to face events translated into virtual offerings or put on hold, and webinars were rolled out in a matter of hours to share real time experiences and learnings.
The craving for information seemed endless.
AO Spine Latin America and AO North America launched their first global webinars almost simultaneously with the first event cancellations. AOSLA webinars in Spanish and English drew global audiences of more than 300 attendees and gave an in-depth live view across all regions. Over 400 surgeons tuned in on April 1st to hear two prominent US physician scientists share the latest on the science and epidemiology of COVID-19, as it applies to surgical practices. This was followed by surgeon-led discussions on actionable strategies for surgical practices. Also, the Banff Fellows Forum went virtual in May.
The AO Clinical Divisions started a joint weekly series titled "From the Frontline: a COVID-19 special report". It served as a live platform for all surgeons to share experiences and knowledge from every corner of the world, where the pandemic presented itself at different stages, and where different responses from authorities were producing varying outcomes.
For each event around 1'000 people registered to hear what experts had to say and share thoughts on burning questions: how to deal with drastic shortages of PPE, fears of carrying the virus home with you, how to prepare for the peak ahead or plan a return to some kind of normality, managing staff and residents, or dealing with limited resources in low-income countries.
AO Spine Education recognized the steady stream of developments that reflect the uncertainties and challenges we are all facing. To mitigate this transmission and the growing need for online learning opportunities, AO Spine Regions opened regional and local webinars to global audiences. Information highlighting the top upcoming webinars is sent out monthly. This is one of the changes we see coming out from COVID-19, on a more positive side.
Extraordinary webinars and new digital learning opportunities are constantly designed to fill the gap in the absence of in-person training. The AO Spine MISS Task Force paved the way with an interactive series of three MISS webinars with world leading MISS experts. The live sessions were free-of-charge, open to both members and non-members, and attracted 700 participants. The Clinical Expert Advice symposia from Global Spine Congress were turned into virtual round-table discussions and, again, 700 surgeons registered within hours of the first announcement. Next event is scheduled for Wednesday, 10 June.
A warm ReBoot to see a Brighter future from AO Spine Asia Pacific who worked steadily to keep the momentum and continued to communicate closely within the team, surgeons, and industrial partners, to redesign and implement projects as agreed in the Joint Committee Meeting. Collaboration (C) of People and Association, Integration (I) of Committee Ideas, and Strong Partnership (P) with Industrial partners is the strategy of AO Spine Asia Pacific in 2020–2022. A series of new, innovative, scalable and expandable programs were swiftly planned as a double backup plan for the most important 2020 events.
Country Implementation Strategy is critical in planning these programs to encourage engagement of members in different countries. Different webinar models are one way to meet the different needs and situations across countries.
The message to people was "we care"! The pandemic started in China, and the AOSAP team for example prepared hand sanitizers with a greeting letter by Prof. Zhuojing Luo, the Chairperson of AOSCN, for all Chinese faculty as a token of support in March.
AO Spine Research was in the lead in studying the effect of COVID-19 on spine surgeons, and surgeons in general. The first paper from the study was published online just over a month into the state of emergency in the Global Spine Journal. Replies were received from over 900 surgeons worldwide. Principal Investigator, AO Spine Research Commission Chair Dino Samartzis talks of 'team science' at its best. "People are working together in synergy across borders, speaking the same language with a deeper appreciation for life during this period of immense uncertainly and challenging demands that mimic a war-time scenario."
Across the AO Foundation, offices have been closed since March and staff were equipped to telework from their homes. Employees were restricted from any business travel. We are staying at home, learning new ways to work, and doing surprisingly well. But we miss the live interaction with our colleagues and our members and look forward to seeing you again soon!
