Training otologic surgical skills through simulation-moving toward validation: a pilot study and lessons learned.

INTRODUCTION: Methods for surgical education and training have changed little over the years. Recent calls to improve surgical efficiency and safety impose additional pressures that have an impact on surgical education and training. USE OF SIMULATION: Integration of data from advanced imaging technologies and computer technologies are creating simulation environments of unprecedented realism. Surgical education and training are poised to exploit low-cost simulation technologies to mitigate these pressures that are having an adverse impact on curricula. To become effective, simulation needs to undergo rigorous validation studies. INTERVENTION: With funding from that National Institute on Deafness and Other Communicative Disorders, we have embarked on a research design project to develop, disseminate, and validate a surgical system for use in otologic resident training and assessment and present key steps from this process. DISCUSSION: We discuss limiting factors related to technology and conducting multi-institutional studies, along with current developments to integrate curricula, as well as training and assessment capabilities in surgical education using simulation.