Surgery and technical skill decay
Marta de Andres Crespo1, Panagis Michael Lykoudis1,2, Fiona Myint2,3
1Centre for Screen-Based Medical Simulation, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK.
International Journal of Surgery (London, England)
|March 14, 2025
Summary
Surgical trainees taking time off may experience skill decay, particularly in technical operative speed and accuracy. Further research is needed to explore mitigation strategies like simulation to maintain surgical skills.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Surgical Training
- Skill Retention
Background:
- Increasing numbers of surgical trainees take time out of clinical training.
- Reasons include research, higher degrees, parental leave, and other interests.
- This trend necessitates an understanding of potential impacts on surgical proficiency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To comprehensively review existing evidence on surgical skill decay.
- To evaluate whether and how time out of training affects surgical skills.
- To identify factors influencing skill loss and potential mitigation strategies.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search across PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library.
- Used keywords: "skills decay" OR "skills fade" AND "surgery."
- Analysis and synthesis of all relevant identified articles.
Main Results:
- 41 relevant articles were identified and analyzed.
- Technical operative skills, specifically speed and accuracy, are most affected by breaks in training.
- Skill decay is influenced by task complexity, prior overlearning, and the duration of the training break, with spaced practice potentially playing a role.
Conclusions:
- Surgical skill decay is a concern for trainees taking time away from clinical practice.
- Factors like task complexity and duration of leave impact skill retention.
- Simulation may offer a potential method for mitigating skill decay, warranting further investigation.
