Surgical Learning Aid: Reducing Uncertainty for the Novice during Simulated Minimally Invasive Surgery

Abstract

Can a procedural learning aid assist novice surgeons in reducing uncertainty and workload during critical points of minimally invasive surgery in an OR environment? Twenty Tufts University students performed a multi-step cutting task on a laparoscopic skills training simulator, with and without a multi-media procedural learning aid. A simple between subjects design was used. The results showed that those subjects who used a learning aid while completing the procedural cutting task were significantly faster (p = 0.02). However, subjects' perceived workload with and without the learning aid were not significantly different. These results have implications for the teaching of residents and communication between experts and novices in the OR.

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