Lessons Learned and New Challenges: Re-evaluation of End-User Assessment of a Skills-Based Training Program for Urology Trainees

Abstract

Objectives:To re-assess the perceived benefit and relevance of simulation sessions to Victorian urology trainees and to identify areas for potential improvement.Subjects and methods:All trainees attending skills training sessions between 2011 and 2016 were asked to complete a structured questionnaire at the completion of the session. The questionnaire included 11 topic areas ranging from the year of surgical training to degree of usefulness of the session, including several sections for free-text response to offer more detailed feedback. Sessions were examined both individually and collectively to assess end-user satisfaction with the structure and content of the program.Results:In total, 24 individual skills sessions were held over the 6-year period, with a total of 355 attendees. Of these, 331 attendees completed the majority of the questionnaire, a response rate of over 93%. Overall 88% of the surveyed attendees stated that they had both the support of their supervising consultant and the flexibility of workload to attend the session; 90% of trainees felt that there was adequate reading material provided prior to the skills session, an improvement from 76% in the previous study period; and 97% of those surveyed felt that the existing session structure was appropriate and the same proportion found the sessions both useful and interesting, compared with just 63% in the previous study period. Analysis of individual topics demonstrates some variability in outcome measures, but for nearly every assessed parameter, greater than 90% of participants agreed that the session fulfilled the expected criteria. New topics developed since the 2011 analysis, including renal transplant and vascular repair, also had high levels of satisfaction. The practical models used have been refined and achieved higher scores than those in the previous assessment period.Conclusion:The urology skills-based training program has been well received by the surveyed trainees and is now embedded and accepted as part of the Victorian training program. The format of the sessions has matured and the overall rating, both individually and collectively, was high. There has been a clear increase in satisfaction across most areas assessed when compared with previous feedback. Despite this, there remain areas that can be improved, such as the amount and quality of available equipment and the inclusion of video demonstrations of operative techniques.

Optimizing surgical training in the time of COVID‐19—Victorian regional teaching hospital experience

“…Facebook, Twitter) had an increasing role in surgical education 16 and was a mechanism to rapidly spread educationally useful links. Virtual ward rounds/Zoom™ meetings 17 ensured that learning opportunities that usually took place on face‐to‐face ward rounds, quizzing and educating a trainee about management plans and diagnoses still occurred. The use of pre‐recorded videos of surgical procedures available on the internet or recorded by supervising surgeons themselves were used as an educational tool during and outside of theatre time. Surgeons and trainees went through an operation or part of a procedure, without the same stresses that exist in a live operating environment. Multiple types of surgical simulation devices ranging from the simple (laparoscopic trainer) to complex (robotic simulation) were utilized to safely recreate the traditional training environment 5,13,18–19 …”

“…Firstly, traditional surgical education can be provided through enhancement of existing educational tools not reliant on the physical patient and new innovative methods. 4,5 Secondly, the COVID-19 pandemic created a multitude of unique scenarios that could develop or enhance a surgical trainees' non-technical skills.…”

“…The reduction and alteration in exposure to patients do not necessarily mean that a trainee does not have the ability to be able to progress through the surgical education and training (SET) programme. Firstly, traditional surgical education can be provided through enhancement of existing educational tools not reliant on the physical patient and new innovative methods 4,5 . Secondly, the COVID‐19 pandemic created a multitude of unique scenarios that could develop or enhance a surgical trainees' non‐technical skills.…”

A Low‐Cost Synthetic Abdominal Wall Model (“Raj Model”) for the Training of Laparoscopic Port Insertion

“…To maximise training opportunities in the operating room, trainees undergo basic skill acquisition during the simulation [2]. Simulation provides trainees to practise a procedure several times without patient harm or anxiety and therefore aid in the development of technical and non‐technical skills [3, 4].…”