Laparoscopic skills assessment: an additional modality for pediatric surgery fellowship selection
Rajaie Hazboun1, Samuel Rodriguez2, Arul Thirumoorthi1
1Division of Pediatric Surgery, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Coleman Pavilion, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
Journal of Pediatric Surgery
|September 27, 2017
Summary
Assessing surgical dexterity through laparoscopic simulation significantly impacted pediatric surgery fellowship rankings. Musical instrument experience correlated with better knot-tying skills, unlike video games or the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery exam.
Area of Science:
- Surgical Education
- Medical Simulation
- Surgical Skills Assessment
Background:
- Pediatric surgery fellowship selection is a complex process.
- Current selection methods do not incorporate surgical dexterity assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of laparoscopic skills assessment on the pediatric surgery fellowship selection process.
- To identify factors correlating with surgical dexterity.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study of 40 pediatric surgery fellowship applicants.
- Laparoscopic skills assessed using a simulator (intracorporeal knot tying time).
- Rank lists compared before and after skills assessment; statistical analysis using t-tests and regression.
Main Results:
- Laparoscopic skills assessment led to significant reordering of applicant rankings (p=0.01).
- Playing a musical instrument correlated with faster knot-tying times (p=0.03).
- No significant correlation found between knot-tying time and video game experience or passing the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) exam.
Conclusions:
- Objective assessment of laparoscopic skills is a valuable addition to the fellowship selection process.
- Musical background may indicate better fine motor skills relevant to surgery.
- Traditional metrics like FLS exam performance do not fully predict laparoscopic proficiency.
