Surgical Warmup Rounds: Concept of Targeted Just-In-Time Robotic Simulation Rehearsal Before and Between Cases

New robotic surgical systems, such as Intuitive's Da Vinci 5, offer a built in virtual reality simulator designed to enable surgeons to practice and refine their skills at the very console they use for operations. What seems like a minor feature has the possibility to reshape how we utilize turnover time (TOT) in operating rooms (OR). TOT is defined as the time from when 1 patient leaves the operating rooms (OR) to the next patient entering. The TOT varies from one institution to another, however, studies suggest that it averages between 70 and 99 minutes. Such intervals are usually viewed as unavoidable wasted time especially at academic institutions. However, we argue that TOT could instead be a valuable opportunity for preparation. Surgeons, fellows, residents can utilize that down-time to simulate practice for the upcoming surgery or practice specific gestures using the console's virtual reality simulator in the same operating theater without having to travel to the nearest SIM lab which is a disincentive given time restraints.