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Construct Validity for a Cost-effective Arthroscopic Surgery Simulator for Resident Education.
Gregory Lopez1, David F Martin, Rick Wright
1From Rush University, Chicago, IL (Dr. Lopez), Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC (Dr. Martin and Dr. Bracey), the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO (Dr. Wright), and the Department of Orthopaedics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA (Dr. Jung, Dr. Hahn, Dr. Jain, and Dr. Gupta).
A new, low-cost arthroscopic simulator effectively trains surgical skills. This tool objectively differentiates skill levels, showing senior residents and attending physicians outperform junior residents and medical students.
Area of Science:
- Surgical Education
- Medical Simulation
- Orthopedic Surgery
Background:
- Arthroscopy presents significant challenges in surgical skill assessment and education.
- Current simulation methods often lack objective evaluation of fundamental arthroscopic skills like triangulation and object manipulation.
- The high cost of traditional arthroscopic training equipment limits accessibility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate a low-cost arthroscopic simulator for practicing essential surgical skills.
- To assess the simulator's ability to objectively differentiate skill levels among various medical professionals.
- To provide an accessible training tool for arthroscopic surgery residents.
Main Methods:
- A cost-effective arthroscopic simulator was constructed using materials from hardware stores, costing approximately $79, including a USB camera.
- The simulator was implemented across three residency programs for testing.
- Participants included medical students, residents, and attending physicians, totaling 75 individuals.
Main Results:
- The simulator demonstrated construct validity, successfully differentiating between novice, intermediate, and senior skill levels.
- Junior residents consistently scored significantly lower than senior residents and attending physicians across all tasks.
- Objective performance differences were observed, validating the simulator's effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- The developed low-cost arthroscopic simulator is a viable and cost-effective tool for surgical training.
- It objectively measures arthroscopic proficiency and can distinguish between different levels of expertise.
- This simulator holds potential as a valuable educational resource for resident arthroscopic skill development.
