Microvascular anastomotic coupler application learning curve: A curriculum supporting further deliberate practice in ex-vivo simulation models

Superiority of living animal models in microsurgical training: beyond technical expertise

“…Persistent, repeated, interval [68], deliberate, self-directed practice on low-fidelity platforms are excellent alternatives to high-fidelity models [69][70][71]. It is found that having previous practical experience with ex vivo models enhances skill retention [70,72], confidence [73], and cognitive perception within the operating room because the technical skills have been mastered and become automatic. Using both living and nonliving models offers the opportunity to reach the highest level of competency needed in microvascular free tissue transfer; each modality offers a unique skill set to the trainee microsurgeon [70].…”

Deliberate Practice in Simulation-Based Surgical Skills Training: A Scoping Review

“…Ten of the seventeen studies were conducted in the USA, [35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44] four in Canada, [45,46,47] three in the UK [48,49,50] and one in Belgium. [51] A range of surgical procedures were examined, the most common being endoscopic [37,40,46,49,50,52], including joint arthroscopy, laparoscopy and hysteroscopy. There were a mix of study designs with six described as prospective randomised control trials (RCT).…”

“…There were a mix of study designs with six described as prospective randomised control trials (RCT). [36,44,46,47,49,50] One of six RCTs described no process for randomisation and in the same study used novice medical students as a control group for senior trainee surgeons undertaking the intervention. [44] Seven studies used a pre-& post-test design.…”

“…surgeon. [36,37,39,40,41,43,44,45,46,49,50,52] The ratio between supervisor and trainee surgeon varied from 1:1 to 1:25, i.e. one-to-more than one trainee, across these studies.…”

“…Nine studies described a process of a trained observer giving individualised feedback or coaching on the simulator directed towards improving performance. [36,39,40,43,44,45,49,50,52] Five studies defined feedback as digital outcomes generated by the simulator that were provided for participants at the end of each repetition, but this did not include any technical coaching. [38,42,46,48,51] All studies described repetitive practice as part of the deliberate practice based SBME intervention.…”