[Video-based Analysis of Practical Skills - a Suitable Tool to Develop Surgical Training?]

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Skill Assessment

Background:

• Video-based analysis is increasingly used in medical education for performance feedback.
• Current applications primarily focus on individual candidate assessment.
• This study investigates video analysis for surgical training development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the utility of video-based analysis for enhancing surgical training.
• To identify typical errors in surgical practical skills through video analysis.
• To develop targeted error prevention exercises based on video analysis findings.

Main Methods:

• Video-documentation of 38 medical students performing a 3-minute surgical suture exercise.
• Analysis of video material using 10 specific criteria to identify errors.
• Development of error prevention exercises based on identified errors and a pilot study with two-group comparison.

Main Results:

• Independent expert review identified typical errors in instrument handling, suture material manipulation, and motion sequences.
• Additional teaching units focused on identified error areas were developed.
• The intervention demonstrated a medium effect size (Cohen's d = 0.73) on suture exercise quality.

Conclusions:

• Video analysis of practical surgical skills is a viable method for developing surgical training.
• It facilitates the identification of error types and frequencies.
• Targeted preventive exercises derived from video analysis positively impact practical task performance quality.