Attitudes and access of Irish general surgery trainees to robotic surgical training

Although the use of robotic-assisted surgery is now mainstream for procedures such as robotic prostatectomy and hysterectomy, its role in general surgery is less well established. Access to training in robotics for general surgery trainees in the Republic of Ireland is variable. Further, there are no data on specific attitudes of Irish trainees toward the role of robotics. We aimed to establish attitudes of Irish general surgery trainees toward the perceived utility of robotic surgery as well as access and satisfaction with training.

A survey was disseminated to trainees in the Republic of Ireland enrolled in a General Surgery training scheme via email and social media. Data collected included stage of training, intended subspecialty, interest in developing robotic skills, previous exposure to robotic surgery, satisfaction with current access to robotic training, and opinion on formally incorporating training in robotics into the general surgery curriculum.

The response rate was 53.8%. Of these, 83% reported interest in training in robotics and 66% anticipated using the technology regularly in consultant practice. Previous exposure to robotic-assisted surgery was significantly predictive of interest in developing the skillset (P = .014). More than 71% of trainees reported that they were not satisfied with access to robotic training. Of those satisfied with access, 40% felt there was a role for incorporating robotic training into the curriculum compared to 68% of those dissatisfied.

Irish general surgery trainees perceive robotic-assisted surgery to be highly relevant to their future practice. There is an unmet need to provide additional training in the skillset.