Face and Content Validity Between DaVinci and CMR Robotic Simulator among General Surgical Faculty

To compare the face and content validity of two robotic surgery simulators-the DaVinci Skills Simulator (dVSS) and the CMR Versius Simulator-among surgeons with varying levels of experience, to guide simulation-based training programmes.

Descriptive analytical study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of General Surgery, Dr. Ruth K.M. Pfau Civil Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan, from March 2024 to February 2025.

A cross-over study was conducted involving 26 surgical faculty members. Participants performed standardised tasks on both simulators and completed a 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire assessing face and content validity. Statistical analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for non-normal data and Cronbach's α for reliability.

Twenty-six faculty members included 16 males and 10 females, with 80.8% novices and 11.5% experts. The dVSS showed significantly higher face [21 (19-22) vs. 17 (16-19); p <0.001] and content validity [22 (19-24) vs. 19 (16-24); p = 0.001] compared to CMR. The assessment demonstrated good reliability (α = 0.835). Most participants (65.4%) had no prior dVSS or CMR exposure, with 80.8% being novices.

While the dVSS remained superior in realism and skill assessment, the CMR simulator demonstrated acceptable validity for training, particularly for novices. Future studies should incorporate longitudinal performance metrics and larger expert cohorts to further evaluate the CMR's role in robotic surgical education.

Robotic surgery simulation, DaVinci, CMR Versius, Face validity, Content validity, Surgical training.