Construct validation of a laparoscopic surgical simulator.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic simulators are increasingly used to train and evaluate surgical skill, and validating laparoscopic simulators for these purposes is paramount. Our goal was to determine if the SurgicalSIM laparoscopic surgical simulator can discriminate between novices and experts and to assess learning curves among novices.
METHODS: Twenty novices and five experts performed five repetitions on the following modules: place arrow, retract, dissect, and traverse tube. For each module, median baseline performance was calculated. Novices performed 35 additional repetitions to assess learning with practice.
RESULTS: Experts outperformed novices at baseline for time to completion on the dissect, place arrow, and traverse tube modules, as well as for error frequency on the traverse tube and retract modules. Novices' performance improved significantly with practice, approaching the experts' baseline in all modules.
CONCLUSION: The SurgicalSIM laparoscopic simulator exhibits construct validity on three of four basic-skills modules when considering completion time and on two modules when considering error frequency. Among novices, learning occurred with additional repetitions. Whether acquired skills transfer to the actual surgical environment has yet to be determined.