Running a surgical education center: from small to large

In the last 2 decades, surgical education has experienced a transformative paradigm shift from the purely service-based Halstedian system to a curriculum-driven model based on educational theory. With the advent of minimally invasive surgery and its educational challenges, fostered by the simultaneously occurring rapid advances of computer technology and graphics and further promoted by rising concerns about patient safety, simulation and skills training has become a well-established tool in the arsenal of the surgical educator. Although most training institutions now have access to skills laboratories and simulation centers, running and integrating these facilities into the surgical curriculum remains a challenge. This article outlines general principles that are relevant for training facilities of all sizes and covers aspects from the initial phase of planning and establishing the center until its ultimately successful integration into the surgical education program.