Assessment and maintenance of competence in urology

Abstract

Urology is becoming increasingly reliant on inter-disciplinary collaboration. As a result of this interaction and developments in technology, the existing system of training, certification and recertification needs revision. The skill-set required of urologists has become multidimensional. As the field of urology continues to evolve, the recognition of the need for objective and efficient certification for trainees and a recertification program for specialists has increased. Training programs need to provide a curriculum focused on knowledge, communication, cognitive and technical skills, with the inclusion of simulation-based training. For specialists, the benefits of teaching through mentorship should be evaluated, and outcome-based assessment of patient morbidity and mortality needs to be further developed and validated.

Pilot Validation Study of the European Association of Urology Robotic Training Curriculum

“…Face validity is the extent to which the learning and assessment environment resembles the situation in the real world [15]. Table 3) [16].…”

“…The outcomes of interest were (1) the feasibility, acceptability, face validity, and educational impact of the curriculum [15] and (2) improvements in performance and ability to perform RARP following completion of the curriculum. Face validity is the extent to which the learning and assessment environment resembles the situation in the real world [15].…”

Establishing the minimal number of virtual reality simulator training sessions necessary to develop basic laparoscopic skills competence: evaluation of the learning curve

“…Recently, The European Endoscopic Surgery Consensus recommended that the basic laparoscopic surgical tasks should be practiced in a laboratory before the practice on human beings (22). But, although modern simulators are more realistic, it is still hard to transfer the virtual reality skills to surgical practice (21,23,24). LapSim simulators have programs very similar to real surgery, and may be considered an advantageous factor.…”

Evolving Role of Simulators and Training in Robotic Urological Surgery

“…Because of rapidly evolving innovations, increasing recognition of adverse events, changes affecting structure of training and the more demand for objective assessment, there is an urgent need for revision of training programs [27,28,29]. Training in robotics need new set of skills that are altogether different from open technical skills (Figure 2).…”

“…Any established training programmes would need general acceptability by the healthcare organisations and trainees. Research to evaluate the effect of simulation training on the outcomes [27].…”