The Journal of surgical research
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Laparoscopic virtual reality simulators are becoming a ubiquitous tool in resident training and assessment. These devices provide the operator with various levels of realism, including haptic (or force) feedback. However, this feature adds significantly to the cost of the devices, and limited data exist assessing the value of haptics in skill acquisition and development. Utilizing the Laparoscopy VR (Immersion Medical, Gaithersburg, MD), we hypothesized that the incorporation of force feedback in the simulated operative environment would allow superior trainee performance compared with performance of the same basic skills tasks in a non-haptic model. ⋯ In the more advanced tasks, haptics allowed superior precision, resulting in faster completion of tasks and a trend toward fewer technical errors. In the more basic tasks, haptic-enhanced simulation did not demonstrate an appreciable performance improvement among our trainees. These data suggest that the additional expense of haptic-enhanced laparoscopic simulators may be justified for advanced skill development in surgical trainees as simulator technology continues to improve.
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The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) has placed great emphasis on residents learning to identify their training needs and to develop learning strategies to address these needs. In surgery, residents can play an active role in identifying training needs through self-assessment of their procedural skills. Our study contributes to the growing body of literature regarding practice-based learning and improvement by attempting to determine if surgery resident experience is associated with comfort level and perceived training needs. ⋯ Our study demonstrates that residents are able to assess their comfort level and training needs based on both actual and perceived experience. The procedural survey has been a useful tool for resident self-assessment in that residents are able to play a more active role in their education by developing appropriate learning plans.