A robotics practice curriculum was developed utilizing dry lab skills and testing parameters based upon the objective structured assessment of surgical tasks (OSATS) to determine its effectiveness in training novice surgeons. We recruited 20 medical students who were oriented to the DaVinci S console and instrumentation. They were pre-tested with four dry lab skills including manipulation, transection, suturing and knot tying. A control group was instructed to practice once weekly to attain proficiency and the intervention group was provided specific instructions regarding practice goals. Each subject was post-tested after a 6-week time. There were 17 students who completed the post-testing. All participants showed significant improvement in pre-test and post-test scores for manipulation (6.6-11.2, p < 0.0005), transection (3.5-6.9, p < 0.0005), knot tying (0.4-1.7, p = 0.003), and suturing (2.0-3.5, p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in pre-test and post-test scores between the control and intervention groups in manipulation, transection, knot tying, and suturing (p = 0.700, 0.782, 0.682, 0.605, respectively). Our study shows that novice surgeons such as medical students can improve dry lab robotics skills with instruction and practice.
Overall, the residents' robotic skills improved after participating in a dry laboratory curriculum; however, robotic availability, duty hour restrictions, and clinical responsibilities limit the curriculum implementation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.