Perceived Proficiency in Minimally Invasive Surgery Among Senior Ob/Gyn Residents

Background and Objectives:

To assess self-perceived proficiency in minimally invasive surgical procedures among fourth-year Ob/Gyn residents in the United States and to evaluate trends in self-perceived proficiencies by comparing the current survey to a similar survey distributed in 2001.

Methods:

A Web-based survey was sent out to all fourth-year residents in accredited obstetrics and gynecology programs in the United States. The residents completed the online survey regarding their perceived proficiency in performing minimally invasive procedures. These results were compared with the results from a similar survey performed in 2001. The residents were also asked about teaching methods and the importance of minimally invasive surgery training during residency.

Results:

We received responses from 248 senior residents. Of these, 65.1% thought emphasis on laparoscopic surgery training should be increased or greatly increased, and 97.1% thought laparoscopic skills were important for building a successful practice. Perceived proficiencies in advanced laparoscopic procedures, such as total laparoscopic hysterectomy and supracervical hysterectomy, were significantly higher compared with our results in 2001. Residents also seemed to feel more comfortable performing basic and advanced hysteroscopic procedures. Of respondents, 56.8% felt that a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery would be beneficial to them following graduation.

Conclusion:

Senior Ob/Gyn residents seem to feel more comfortable performing advanced laparoscopic procedures at graduation than they did 7 years ago. The majority feels that the emphasis on training in minimally invasive surgery should be increased.     

Survey of residency training in laparoscopic and robotic surgery

PURPOSE: We determined the current status of residency training in laparoscopic and robotic surgery in the United States and Canada. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1,188 surveys were sent via the Internet to all 1,056 current urology residents and 132 program directors with an Internet address registered with the American Urological Association. RESULTS: Responses were received from 372 residents (35%) and 56 program directors (42%). Of respondents 47% reported greater than 100 laparoscopic procedures performed yearly by 1 (36%) or more (51%) faculty members. Robotic procedures were performed at 54% of the institutions, mainly consisting of prostatectomy and pyeloplasty. At all institutions laparoscopic radical nephrectomy was performed and those at 69% of the institutions believed that it is the gold standard for renal tumors today. Urologists were involved in 87% of adrenal surgeries and 54% of respondents believed that is the gold standard approach. However, only 35% of respondents had participated in laparoscopic adrenalectomy. Of respondents 36%, 42% and 17% reported that laparoscopic donor nephrectomy was performed by only urologists, only a nonurology transplant team and shared equally, respectively. Of respondents 41% planned on performing laparoscopic donor nephrectomy in the next year. Laparoscopic needle ablation renal surgery was done in 51% of the programs and percutaneous needle ablation was done in 63%. None of the respondents (0%) believed that it is the gold standard but 51% believed that ablative procedures look promising for renal tumors. Of respondents 39% had participated in robotic radical prostatectomy and 53% thought that it looked promising but was not the gold standard. Of respondents 31% believed that they will be performing robotic surgery after residency, 30% were unsure and 29% will not be using the robot. Overall 38% of residents thought that their laparoscopic experience was at least average or acceptable. CONCLUSIONS: A large number of laparoscopic urological procedures are being performed at training institutions with robotic procedures being performed at 54% of respondent facilities. Residents are participating in most cases but only 38% consider their laparoscopic experience to be satisfactory. A need still exists for increased laparoscopic training for residents, which can be accomplished by expanding training facilities and increasing the number of faculty members performing laparoscopic procedures.     

Building a laparoscopic surgical skills training laboratory: resources and support.

BACKGROUND: Technical skills have historically been developed and assessed in the operating room. Multiple pressures including resident work hour limitations, increasing costs of operating room time, and patient safety concerns have led to an increased interest in conducting these activities in a safe, reproducible environment. To address some of these issues, many residency programs have developed laparoscopic surgical skills training laboratories. We sought to determine the current status of laparoscopic skills laboratories across residency programs. METHODS: In December 2004, surveys were mailed to all 251 United States general surgery residency program directors. This brief 2-page survey consists of 9 questions regarding laparoscopic skills training laboratories. RESULTS: Of the 251 mailed surveys, 111 completed surveys were returned (44%). Of the respondents, 81 have laparoscopic skills training laboratories in place (80%). Skills laboratories that used a defined curriculum, and general surgery programs that shared their laboratories with other training programs were determined to have significantly more resources. A wide variety of funding sources have been used to develop and support these skills laboratories. CONCLUSIONS: Significant variability in training practices and equipment currently used exists between laboratories. A more efficient, standardized approach to skills training across residency programs is a desirable goal for the immediate future.     

Implementation of the laparoscopic simulator in a gynecological residency curriculum

Background In view of the current emphasis on increasing patient safety and quality control in laparoscopic surgery, there is a growing need to improve laparoscopic training. This study was conducted to investigate if and when residents reached performance standards for basic laparoscopic skills on a boxtrainer and to analyze the current state of implementation of laparoscopic simulators in a gynecological residency curriculum. Methods Residents across all 6 years of residency (postgraduate year [PGY] 1–6) were tested once on our boxtrainer by performing five inanimate tasks (pipe cleaner, rubber band, beads, cutting circle, intracorporeal knot tying). A sumscore for the five tasks was calculated for each participant (sum of all scores). Scores were calculated by adding completion time and penalty points, thus rewarding both speed and precision. These data were compared with scores of laparoscopic experts, which were set as performance standards. Results Of the participants, 111 were residents (7 PGY1, 27 PGY2, 29 PGY3, 28 PGY4, 14 PGY5, 6 PGY6) and 8 were experts. At the end of residency, PGY6 residents reached the performance standard for all tasks except intracorporeal knot tying. It was not until PGY5 that residents reached the performance standard for the pipe cleaner task; PGY1, for rubber band; PGY5, for beads; PGY4, for circle cutting; and PGY6, for sumscore. Throughout residency PGY6 had a mean total of only 3.6 h of simulator training experience. No correlation was found between this previous voluntary simulator training experience and performance on our boxtrainer during this study (sumscore), and between previous voluntary simulator training and total laparoscopic procedures performed. In a combined multivariate analysis, sumscore performance remained significantly associated with the number of laparoscopic procedures performed by residents when they were working as as a primary surgeon (p = 0.002), and not with the cumulative hours of simulator training during residency prior to participating in this study (p = 0.15). Conclusions In a current Dutch gynecological residency curriculum, residents do not reach all performance standards for basic laparoscopic skills on the boxtrainer. We conclude that the voluntary simulator training program has a substantial risk to fail and that the implementation of the laparoscopic skills simulator in the current residency curriculum is in its infancy.     

The need for training opportunities in advanced laparoscopic surgery

Background: There is controversy regarding the amount of training necessary to safely perform advanced laparoscopic surgery. General surgical residency often provides only a low volume of advanced laparoscopic cases and there is growing interest in nonaccredited fellowships focused on laparoscopic surgery.Objective: To assess surgical residents' perception of the need for training in advanced laparoscopic surgery in addition to that provided in a standard general surgical residency. Methods: A 15-item questionnaire was mailed to 985 physicians who either were Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) candidate members or had attended a SAGES resident course in 1998 or 1999. For the purposes of the survey, laparoscopic Nissen fundoplication, laparoscopic herniorrhaphy, laparoscopic splenectomy, and laparoscopic colectomy were chosen as advanced procedures. Results: Of the 85 responses obtained, 81% were from respondents who were at the postgraduate fourth-year (PG4) level or higher. Furthermore, 58% of the respondents had taken a course in advanced laparoscopic surgery outside their residency program. The respondents believed that to perform the procedures safely and with confidence on entering practice, they needed to do at least eight each of the selected laparoscopic procedures. As reported, 45% of the respondents had performed three or fewer laparoscopic hernias; 60% had performed three or fewer laparoscopic Nissen fundoplications; 81% had performed three or fewer laparoscopic colectomies; and 86% had performed three or fewer splenectomies. Only 32% of the residents expected to perform more than 10 laparoscopic Nissen fundoplications, only 10% expected to perform more than 10 colectomies, and only 4% expected to perform more than 10 splenectomies before completing their residency. Many respondents (65%) said they would pursue an additional year of advanced laparoscopic training if it were available. In programs unaffiliated with a fellowship in advanced laparoscopic surgery, 65% of the residents were concerned that such a fellowship would interfere with residency training in laparoscopic surgery. In comparison, only 24% of the residents in programs affiliated with a fellowship in advanced laparoscopic surgery believed that the fellowship interfered with their training, whereas 47% of the residents in programs affiliated with a fellowship in advanced laparoscopic surgery thought that the fellowship had no impact on their training. Conclusions: Residents clearly perceive a need for additional training in advanced laparoscopic surgery. Residents from programs without a laparoscopic fellowship are concerned about a negative impact on their experience from a laparoscopic fellow, but residents from programs with a laparoscopic fellowship are neutral about the impact of a fellow.     

The Eindhoven laparoscopic cholecystectomy training course—improving operating room performance using virtual reality training: results from the first E.A.E.S. accredited virtual reality trainings curriculum

Background: This study was undertaken to investigate operating room performance of surgical residents, after participating in the Eindhoven virtual reality laparoscopic cholecystectomy training course. This course is the first formal surgical resident trainings course, using a variety of complementary virtual reality (VR) skills training simulation in order to prepare surgical residents for their first laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The course was granted EAES certification. Methods: The four-day course is based on multimedia and multimodality approach. A variety of increasingly difficult simulation training sessions, next to intimate focus-group “knowledge sessions” are included. Both basic and procedural VR simulation is featured, using MIST-VR and the Xitacts' LapChol simulation software. The operating room performance of twelve surgical residents who participated in the course and twelve case-control counterparts were compared. The case-control grup was matched for clinical number laparoscopic cholecystectomy performance (maximum of 4 procedures). Two observers analyzed a randomly mixed videotape, featuring the part of the “clip-and-cut” procedure of the laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and were blinded for participants' group status. Structured questionnaires including multiple observation scales were used to assess performance. Results: Residents of both the experimental and control group did not differ in demographic parameters, except for number of laparoscopic cholecystectomies in favor of the control group (p-value 0.008). Both observers judge the experimental group to perform significantly better (p-value 0.004 and 0.013). Experimental group residents valued their course highly in terms of their laparoscopic surgical skills improvement and the use of VR simulators in the surgical curiculum. Conclusions: The Eindhoven Virtual Reality laparoscopic cholecyctectomy training course improves surgical skill in the operating room above the level of residents trained by a variety of other training methods.     

Prospective randomized controlled trial of simulator-based versus traditional in-surgery laparoscopic camera navigation training

Background  

Surgical residents often use a laparoscopic camera in minimally invasive surgery for the first time in the operating room (OR) with no previous education or experience. Computer-based simulator training is increasingly used in residency programs. However, no randomized controlled study has compared the effect of simulator-based versus the traditional OR-based training of camera navigation skills.     

Validation of laparoscopic surgical skills training outside the operating room: a long road

Background  Surgical skills training outside the operating room is beneficial. The best methods have yet to be identified. The authors aimed to document the predictive validity of simulation training in three different studies. Methods  Study 1 was a prospective, randomized, multicenter trial comparing performance in the operating room after training on a laparoscopic simulator and after no training. The Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) was used to evaluate operative performance. Study 2 retrospectively reviewed the operative performance of junior residents before and after implementation of a laparoscopic skills training curriculum. Operative time was the variable used to determine resident improvement. Study 3 was a prospective, randomized trial evaluating intern operative performance of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a porcine model before and after training on a simulator. Operative performance was assessed using GOALS. Results  All three studies failed to demonstrate predictive validity. With GOALS used as the assessment tool, no difference was found between trained and untrained residents in studies 1 and 3. In study 2, the trained group took significantly longer to complete a laparoscopic cholecystectomy than the untrained group. Conclusions  No correlation was found between the three types of training outside the operating room, and no improved operative performance was observed. Possible explanations include too few subjects, training introduced too late in the learning curve, and training criteria that were too easy. Additionally, simulator training focuses on precision, which may actually increase task time. Awareness of these issues can improve the design of future studies. This work was presented at the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) meeting, Philadelphia, PA, April 2008.     

Anesthesia crisis resource management: Real-life simulation training in operating room crises

Little formal training is provided in anesthesiology residency programs to help acquire, develop, and practice skills in resource management and decision making during crises in practice. Using anesthesia crisis resource management (ACRM) principles developed at another institution, 68 anesthesiologists and 4 nurse-anesthetists participated in an ACRM training course held over a 2 and a half-month period. The anesthesia environment was recreated in a real operating room, with standard equipment and simulations requiring actual performance of clinical interventions. Scenarios included overdose of inhalation anesthetic, oxygen source failure, cardiac arrest, malignant hyperthermia, tension pneumothorax, and complete power failure. A detailed questionnaire was administered following the debriefing and completed by all participants, documenting their immediate impressions.

Participants rated themselves as having performed well in the simulator. Senior attendings and residents rated themselves more highly than did their junior counterparts. The potential benefit of this course for anesthesiologists to practice anesthesia more safely in a controlled exercise environment, was rated highly by both groups.

Over one half of respondents in all categories felt that the course should be taken once every 12 months; another third of each group felt that the course should be taken once every 24 months. While no senior attendings believed that the course should be taken once every 6 months, approximately 10% of respondents in other categories that it should. Of respondents in the senior and junior attending category, 5% felt the course should never be taken. Although attendings were less favorable than residents in their rating of the value of the course, both groups were still enthusiastic.     

Development of a valid, cost-effective laparoscopic training program

BACKGROUND: Practical programs for training and evaluating surgeons in laparoscopy are needed to keep pace with demand for minimally invasive surgery. METHODS: At the University of Kentucky five inexpensive simulations have been developed to train and assess surgical residents. Residents are videotaped performing laparoscopic procedures on models. Five surgeons assess the taped performances on 4 global skills. RESULTS: Creating mechanical models reduces training costs. Trainees agreed procedures were well represented by the simulations. Blinded assessment of performances showed high interrater agreement and correlated with the trainees' level of experience. Nonclinician evaluations on checklists correlated with evaluations by surgeons. CONCLUSIONS: Inexpensive simulations of laparoscopic appendectomy, cholecystectomy, inguinal herniorrhaphy, bowel enterotomy, and splenectomy enable surgical residents to practice laparoscopic skills safely. Obtaining masked, objective, and independent evaluations of basic skills in laparoscopic surgery can assist in reliable assessment of surgical trainees. The simulations described can anchor an innovative educational program during residency for training and assessment.     

Minimal-access surgery training in the Netherlands: a survey among residents-in-training for general surgery

Background The purpose of this study was to assess the state of surgical training and its possible shortcomings in minimal-access surgery (MAS) among Dutch surgical residents.Methods A pretested questionnaire was distributed to all residents-in-training for general surgery in The Netherlands.Results The questionnaire was sent to 407 surgical residents. The response rate was 65%. Overall, 87.7% of all the responders were highly interested in the autonomous performance of laparoscopic surgery. Residents interested in gastrointestinal (GI) or oncologic surgery (n = 137) are significantly more interested than residents interested in non-GI/oncologic surgery. All the residents (100%) thought it was important to be able to perform the three basic MAS procedures (diagnostic laparoscopy, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and laparoscopic appendectomy) autonomously at the end of their surgical training. Other MAS procedures were considered to be advanced procedures. Gastrointestinal/oncologic residents were most interested in performing advanced MAS procedures, although only 17.8% expected to be adequately prepared at the end of their surgical training. Most residents had the opportunity to attend MAS skills education. Irrespective of the format or training method, only 26.9% of residents stated their MAS skills training was objectively evaluated. The residents thought every surgical hospital department in the Netherlands should have a surgeon specialized in laparoscopic surgery (86.9%).Conclusions The current study showed that Dutch residents believe it is very important to perform basic MAS autonomously. Of the GI/oncologic–interested residents, the majority want to be able to perform advanced MAS, but expect to be unable to do so at the end of their training. They attribute this discrepancy to not having enough chance to be the first operator and to lack of volume of procedures in the hospital. Specific and properly implemented, monitored, and evaluated MAS skills training programs in skills laboratory settings could offer a promising environment for overcoming this discrepancy.     

Education in postgraduate surgical schools: the role of the surgical tutor as supervisor in the operating room

The Postgraduate Surgical education is in an era of transition, in order to create physicians with skills and attitudes needed by modern health care. Many studies have examined the impact of surgical tutoring in surgical residency programs in USA Medical Schools, while few experiences are reported from European Universities. The new Italian guidelines for post-graduate education require a structured clinical learning with the supervision of a tutor ("attending surgeon" for surgical residency); it is a challenge to describe the role of this teacher and educator, and to implement an effective evaluation of operating room teachers. Confidential survey was administered to 14 surgical residents of the Authors' University. Questions were related to their surgical activity and their perception of educational role of tutors in operating room and tutors' teaching behaviors. Residents pointed out five behaviors they perceive as signs of tutor excellence in clinical and operating room setting. According with studies from other Universities, residents need a tutor with competency but also with good teaching skills and a mature self-perception as educator. Faculty would provide training programs for surgeons in order to improve their teaching skills and behaviors.     

Evaluation of laparoscopic skills: a 2-year follow-up during residency training.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate laparoscopic technical skill in surgical residents over a 2-year period. DESIGN: The laparoscopic technical skills of general surgical residents were evaluated using the MISTELS program. This provides an objective evaluation of laparoscopic skill, taking into account precision and speed. SETTING: Inanimate laparoscopic skills centre. PARTICIPANTS: Ten general surgical residents (5 PGY1, 3 PGY2 and 2 PGY3 residents) who were required to complete 3 structured laparoscopic tasks. OUTCOME MEASURES: A composite score incorporating precision and timing was assigned to each task. The paired t-test was used to compare performance of each resident at the 2 levels of their residency training for each task. Linear regression analysis was used to correlated level of training and total score (sum of all tasks). RESULTS: Linear regression analysis demonstrated a highly significant correlation between level of training and total score (r = 0.82, p < 0.01). There was a significant increase in scores in the cutting and suturing task over the 2-year period (p < 0.01). Transferring skills did not improve significantly (p = 0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Performance in the simulator improved over residency training and was correlated highly with postgraduate year. This simulator model is a valuable teaching tool for training and evaluation of basic laparoscopic tasks in laparoscopic surgery.     

A prospective evaluation of a simulator-based laparoscopic training program for gynecology residents

BACKGROUND: To determine prospectively if simulator-based laparoscopic training could improve laparoscopic skills of gynecology residents. STUDY DESIGN: Twenty-six gynecology residents were enrolled in a laparoscopy training curriculum involving didactics, self-paced learning modules, and graded simulator-based laparoscopic training modules. Six simulator tasks were developed to introduce incremental levels of difficulty. Residents were tested on bead/peg manipulation, passing of a specially designed "key," cutting of lines and circles on a two-layer latex glove, and laparoscopic suturing followed by both intra- and extracorporeal knot tying. Times for each task and penalties for errors were assessed at baseline and after 3 months of training. RESULTS: Twenty-six residents completed initial baseline and 3-month evaluations. Average summary time (including 30-seconds penalties for each error) at baseline was 64 minutes and 36 minutes at 3-month evaluation (p < 0.001). For PGY1 baseline summary times averaged 83 minutes compared with 50 minutes at 3 months (p = 0.006). For PGY4 baseline summary times averaged 49 minutes compared with 28 minutes at 3 months (p = 0.05). All individual tasks demonstrated substantial improvement (p < 0.001) from baseline to 3-month evaluation. Baseline summary scores demonstrated correlation between PGY training year and overall score (p < 0.001) consistent with earlier ability and training. Three-month scores demonstrated equalization of skill level across PGY2 through PGY4. CONCLUSIONS: A dedicated simulator-based laparoscopic training curriculum has the ability to improve basic laparoscopic skills in a gynecologic residency, as measured by timed and scored simulator tasks. Construct validity was demonstrated by measuring substantial improvement in performance with increasing residency training, and with practice.     

Mental skills training limits the decay in operative technical skill under stressful conditions: Results of a multisite,randomized controlled study

BackgroundOverwhelming stress in the operating room can lead to decay in operative performance, particularly for residents who lack experience. Mental skills training can minimize deterioration in performance during challenging situations. We hypothesized that residents trained on mental skills would outperform controls under increased stress conditions in the simulated operating room.MethodsResidents from Indiana University enrolled voluntarily in this institutional review board–approved study. Residents were stratified according to baseline characteristics and randomized into a mental skills and control group. Both groups trained to proficiency in laparoscopic suturing, but only the mental skills group received mental skills training. After training, technical skill transfer was assessed under regular and stressful conditions on a porcine model. Performance was assessed using an objective suturing score. The Test of Performance Strategies was used to assess the use of mental skills. Data were combined and compared with data that had been collected at Carolinas Healthcare System because residents underwent the same protocol.ResultsA total of 38 residents completed all study elements. There were no differences in the effects observed between sites. We observed no group differences at baseline. The groups achieved similar technical performance at baseline, posttest, and transfer test under low-stress conditions, but the mental skills group outperformed the control group during the transfer test under high-stress conditions.ConclusionOur comprehensive mental skills curriculum implemented with surgery residents at two institutions was effective at minimizing the deterioration of resident technical performance under stressful conditions compared with controls. These results provide further evidence for the effectiveness of mental skills training to optimize surgery trainees’ technical performance during challenging clinical situations.     

Surgical residents' perception of simulation training

Laparoscopic surgical simulation is a valuable and validated training tool. We examined its perception and use among general surgery residents at our institution. Questionnaires were sent to all 29 general surgery residents with a 93 per cent response rate. Residents were divided into junior residents (JR; PGY 1-2) and senior residents (SR; PGY 3-5). JR spent more hours in the simulation center and completed their assigned tasks faster than SR (14 vs 52 days). Thirty-three per cent of SR felt that simulation training should be limited to JR in contrast to only 8 per cent of JR. However, 93 per cent of residents agreed that the program improved their laparoscopic skills. Most residents feel that simulation training is essential and mandatory in current surgical residency (75% of JR and 67% of SR) and needs to be extended to open surgery (67% JR and 60% SR). Seventy-five per cent of JR, but only 13 per cent of SR, feel that residents' involvement in procedures should be based on performance in surgical simulation. JR ranked simulation training first in useful ways to learn new skills, whereas SR ranked proctorship highest. JR have a higher use of simulation training and a higher perception of its utility.     

Perception and use of minimal access surgery simulators in pediatric surgery training programs

Background/Purpose

In the current time-restricted training environment, simulator use in surgical teaching is receiving increasing attention. A large body of literature addresses simulators' effectiveness in surgical education. No prior studies assess how widely simulators are actually being used or attitudes about their effectiveness of those involved in training.

Methods

Surveys were e-mailed to all current pediatric surgery trainees and training directors. Queries examined respondents' perceptions about surgical simulators' usefulness and to what extent they are used in their programs. Other questions assessed obstacles to simulator use.

Results

Response rates were high (47% of program directors and 67% of current fellows). Nearly all respondents felt laparoscopic simulators improve training efficiency (88%). About half (55%) report regular simulator availability to trainees. Only 21% of programs have current or planned simulation curricula. Less than half of the training directors (32%) and about half of the fellows (55%) felt they have actually significantly improved trainees' skills.

Conclusions

Trainees and training directors placed significant importance on simulator use in pediatric surgery training. However, most did not feel that simulators had actually improved the trainees' laparoscopic skills. Wider availability of simulation laboratories and protected time for using them would enhance the impact of simulators on pediatric surgery training.     

Laparoscopic practice patterns among North American urologists 5 years after formal training

PURPOSE: We assessed urologist laparoscopy practice patterns 5 years after a postgraduate training course in urological laparoscopic surgery. Results were compared to findings from similar studies performed on the same cohort at 3 and 12 months after training. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1991 and November 1992, 11, 2-day university sponsored, postgraduate laparoscopic surgery training programs were held. A survey was mailed to the 322 North American participants in the summer of 1997 to determine current laparoscopic use and experience. RESULTS: Of the 166 respondents (51% response rate) 53.6% (89) had performed 1 or more laparoscopic procedures in the previous year, compared to 84% 1 year following course completion. Of the respondents 37% believed their laparoscopic experience was sufficient to maintain skills compared to 66% at 1 year. Of the respondents 6% had performed more laparoscopic procedures while 82% had performed fewer than anticipated. Reasons cited for decreased use included decreasing and/or lack of indications, increased cost, decreased patient interest, higher complication rates, decreased institutional support and increased operative time. Respondents practicing in academic or residency affiliated centers, or those who had completed residency after 1980 were more likely to have performed more procedures than anticipated (p = 0.044) compared to community based colleagues. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic use by urologists trained in the postgraduate setting is decreasing. Few respondents are maintaining the skills acquired during the original training course. Decreased use appears to be multifactorial.     

Broad-based fellowships: a cornerstone of minimally invasive surgery education and dissemination

Aware of the trends in surgery and of public demand, many residents completing a 5-year training program seek fellowships in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) because of inadequate exposure to advanced MIS during their residency. A survey was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a broad-based fellowship in advanced laparoscopic surgery offered in an academic health science center. The questionnaire was mailed to all graduates. Data on demographics, comfort level with specific laparoscopic procedures, and opinions regarding the best methods of acquiring these skills were collected. Most of the surgeons entered the fellowship directly after residency. The majority of these surgeons are academic surgeons. Fellows performed a median of 187 cases by the end of their training and felt comfortable operating on foregut, hindgut, and end organ. A full year of training was found to be the best format for appropriate skill transfer. A broad-based MIS fellowship meets the needs of both academic and community surgeons desiring to perform advanced laparoscopic procedures.     

A surgical virtual reality simulator distinguishes between expert gynecologic laparoscopic surgeons and perinatologists

Background:Concern regarding the quality of surgical training in obstetrics and gynecology residency programs is focusing attention on competency based education. Because open surgical skills cannot necessarily be translated into laparoscopic skills and with minimally invasive surgery becoming standard in operative gynecology, the discrepancy in training between obstetrics and gynecology will widen. Training on surgical simulators with virtual reality may improve surgical skills. However, before incorporation into training programs for gynecology residents the validity of such instruments needs to first be established. We sought to prove the construct validity of a virtual reality laparoscopic simulator, the SurgicalSim^TM, by showing its ability to distinguish between surgeons with different laparoscopic experience.Methods:Eleven gynecologic surgeons (experts) and 11 perinatologists (controls) completed 3 tasks on the simulator, and 10 performance parameters were compared.Results:The experts performed faster, more efficiently, and with fewer errors, proving the construct validity of the SurgicalSim.Conclusions:Laparoscopic virtual reality simulators can measure relevant surgical skills and so distinguish between subjects having different skill levels. Hence, these simulators could be integrated into gynecology resident endoscopic training and utilized for objective assessment. Second, the skills required for competency in obstetrics cannot necessarily be utilized for better performance in laparoscopic gynecology.