Development of a program for teaching practical skills in visceral and digestive surgery by simulation

Up until 2013 in France, practical training for DES/DESC (advanced level) residents in visceral and digestive surgery was not standardized. Since 2017, the third cycle of medical studies has been restructured around three major thematic axes: academic knowledge, and technical and non-technical skills. The curriculum now includes a practical training program by means of simulation outside the operating theater, and it is structured, uniformized and standardized nationwide. Development of this training program is derived from the deliberations of a national consensus panel working under the umbrella of the French college of visceral and digestive surgery, program presenting a training guide to all future surgeons in the specialty. Four consensus conference sessions bringing together an eight-member commission have led to the drafting of a "Resident's manual for practical teaching in visceral and digestive surgery". As a reference document, the manual details in 272 pages the objectives (phase I), the learning resources for each skill (phase II) and, lastly, the means of evaluation for the cornerstone phases as well as the in-depth phases of an advanced degree (DES) in visceral and digestive surgery. As a complement to the manual, we have conducted a review of the structuring and implementation of the program as of November 2017 on a nationwide scale; the conclusions of the review are detailed at the end of this article.