One or two trainees per workplace in a structured multimodality training curriculum for laparoscopic surgery? Study...

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education
• Medical Training Simulation

Background:

• Laparoscopy training courses are crucial for surgical skill development.
• Multimodality training combines various methods for optimal outcomes.
• Current standards for trainee-to-workstation ratios are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of individual versus paired training on surgical performance.
• To determine the optimal number of trainees per workstation in laparoscopy courses.
• To identify factors influencing learning curves and skill acquisition.

Main Methods:

• A monocentric, three-arm randomized controlled trial involving 100 laparoscopically-naive medical students.
• Standardized multimodality training using box trainers and virtual reality (VR) simulators.
• Assessment of basic and procedural skills on VR trainers and cadaveric porcine models using validated rating scales.

Main Results:

• Primary outcome: operative performance on cadaveric porcine laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) assessed by blinded experts.
• Secondary outcomes: Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Surgical skills score, completion time, and VR performance improvement.
• Exploration of cognitive and psychological factors influencing training outcomes.

Conclusions:

• This research will provide evidence-based recommendations for optimizing trainee numbers in laparoscopy training.
• Findings aim to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of surgical education programs.
• Understanding the impact of peer interaction on learning curves is key to improving training methodologies.