Survey of resident training in robotic surgery

Robotics has been recognized as a major driving force in the advancement of minimally invasive surgery. However, the extent to which General Surgery residents are being trained to use robotic technology has never been assessed. A survey was sent to program directors of accredited General Surgery training programs to determine the prevalence and application of robotics in surgical training programs. Responses were tabulated and analyzed. Thirty-three per cent indicated interest in minimally invasive surgery. Twelve per cent of responders have used robotics in their practice, and 65 per cent felt robotics will play an important role in the future of General Surgery. Currently residents from 14 per cent of the responding training programs have exposure to robotic technology, and residents from an additional 4 per cent of these programs have limited didactic exposure. Program directors from 23 per cent of responding programs identified plans to incorporate robotics into their program. Robotics have been shown to make standard endoscopic surgical procedures more efficient and cost-effective as well as allowing a variety of procedures that were only possible with conventional methods to be completed with minimally invasive techniques. This new technology promises to be a large part of the future of surgery and as such deserves more attention in the training of General Surgery residents.