A pilot in training doesn’t fly a plane at his first lesson. And so it goes for surgeons in training. To learn such complex skills, it’s safer and more effective to practice first on a simulator.
In a new study, researchers at Temple University School of Medicine found that a complete laparoscopic skills training curriculum based entirely in the laboratory enables residents to build confidence and perfect skills outside of the operating room.
“With the mandated reduction of work hours last year, the use of laparoscopic skills training in the laboratory has become a greater necessity in ensuring the quality surgical education of residents,” said lead investigator Harsh Grewal, M.D. associate professor of surgery at Temple University School of Medicine and a pediatric surgeon at Temple University Children’s Medical Center.
Last year, federal mandates capped the resident’s work week at 80 hours, reducing the amount of time spent learning in the operating room and in the hospital treating patients. To ensure that residents still gain the necessary skills, medical educators have had to adapt teaching methods and are increasingly turning to virtual and laboratory training techniques.
Grewal’s study, “Teaching Laparoscopic Skills to Surgical Residents: Can it be done in the Laboratory?” will be presented today, September 29, at the Society of Laparoendocscopic Surgeons Annual Meeting.
While it has become a valuable, minimally invasive alternative to open surgery, laparoscopic surgery requires a great deal of practice to develop the requisite skills. During traditional open surgery, the surgeon works directly on an organ or part of the body. But with laparoscopic surgery, the surgeon inserts a camera and surgical tools through long thin tubes into the body and watches everything on a television monitor. It takes getting used to, especially to develop the necessary hand/eye coordination.