[Student education with using training simulator for endoscopic surgery]

Area of Science:

• Thoracic Surgery
• Medical Education
• Surgical Simulation

Context:

• Video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is increasingly adopted.
• Japan faces a declining number of surgeons, raising concerns about future shortages.
• Medical students require practical training for complex surgical procedures.

Purpose:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a surgical simulator with an endoscopic simulator for medical student training.
• To assess the impact of simulator training on task completion time and student interest in surgery.

Summary:

• 245 medical students underwent training using a surgical simulator with an endoscopic simulator.
• Task completion times decreased between the first and second training sessions.
• 95% of students reported positive opinions on the simulator's practical training value, and 85% showed increased interest in surgery.

Impact:

• Simulator training shows a beneficial effect on increasing medical students' interest in pursuing surgical careers.
• This training method could potentially help mitigate future shortages of surgeons.
• While task completion time did not correlate with proficiency, positive student feedback suggests simulator efficacy.