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Updated: Jun 19, 2026
Emergency Undocking in Robotic Surgery: A Simulation Curriculum
Published on: May 20, 2018
Robotic surgical education: a collaborative approach to training postgraduate urologists and endourology fellows
Hossein Mirheydar1, Marklyn Jones, Kenneth S Koeneman
1Department of Urologic Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 55455, USA.
Objective:
Currently, robotic training for inexperienced, practicing surgeons is primarily done vis-à-vis industry and/or society-sponsored day or weekend courses, with limited proctorship opportunities. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of an extended-proctorship program at up to 32 months of follow-up.
Methods:
An extended-proctorship program for robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy was established at our institution. The curriculum consisted of 3 phases: (1) completing an Intuitive Surgical 2-day robotic training course with company representatives; (2) serving as assistant to a trained proctor on 5 to 6 cases; and (3) performing proctored cases up to 1 year until confidence was achieved. Participants were surveyed and asked to evaluate on a 5-point Likert scale their operative experience in robotics and satisfaction regarding their training.
Results:
Nine of 9 participants are currently performing robotic-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP) independently. Graduates of our program have performed 477 RALP cases. The mean number of cases performed within phase 3 was 20.1 (range, 5 to 40) prior to independent practice. The program received a rating of 4.2/5 for effectiveness in teaching robotic surgery skills.
Conclusion:
Our robotic program, with extended proctoring, has led to an outstanding take-rate for disseminating robotic skills in a metropolitan community.
