Learning and training complex coronary surgery

Self-Practice Program for Beating-Heart Minimally Invasive Coronary Anastomosis Using a Homemade Low-Fidelity Simulator: A Proof of Concept

“…This idea stems from the training curriculum of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven cardiac surgical unit, where trainees are trained for OPCAB at an early stage using a simulator. 8 Simulation training allows surgeons to practice certain sets of skills and to become competent without compromising patient safety. Combined with a structured curriculum, this will allow enhancement of both technical and nontechnical skills.…”

Commentary: Collaborative education in surgery

“…Professor Sergeant initiated his training paradigm years ago because of the identified need in the European environment. 5 With many disparate programs in Europe, he sought to standardize components of basic technical skills training, such as vessel anastomosis, and personally visited numerous international sites with the sole purpose of advancing and oftentimes learning from such training. No doubt, this is an expensive proposition, as evidenced by the need for industry sponsorship.…”

Commentary: New ground: Applying the science of learning to cardiothoracic trainees

“…Sergeant and De Raet 1 present an article that stands out as both unique and unfamiliar. In my search through the abstracts of this Journal I was unable to find a single article that addresses the science of learning in the ways described in this article.…”

“…There are newer—some would say exciting—concepts and practical advances that will surely influence our specialty, primarily because of the need for specialty-related technical and cognitive skills. The article by Sergeant and De Raet 1 addresses how learning theory may influence surgical skill development in cardiothoracic surgery trainees. To many cardiothoracic surgeons (me included), reading this article must seem like reading ancient Greek or deciphering hieroglyphics.…”

“…The skill acquisition that is associated with cortical reorganization has obvious overlaps with learning a specialized skill like performing cardiothoracic surgery. In reading the article by Sergeant and De Raet, 1 one gets the impression that our specialty has been slow to adopt newer, advanced models of skill acquisition and has not advanced beyond using the left internal thoracic artery for coronary revascularization and using cardiopulmonary bypass to perform operations. This is a gross oversimplification that may be unfair to the authors—I am sure they meant for their article to be provocative and to be a vehicle for change in our specialty.…”