Iakovos Theodoulou1, Marios Nicolaides2, Thanos Athanasiou3, Apostolos Papalois4, Michail Sideris5. 1. Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King's College London, Guy's Hospital Great Maze Pond, London, United Kingdom. Electronic address: iacovos.theodoulou@kcl.ac.uk. 2. Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom. 3. Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Faculty of Medicine, London, United Kingdom. 4. Experimental Research Centre ELPEN, Pikermi, Greece. 5. Women's Health Research Unit, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify and critically appraise all literature surrounding simulation-based learning (SBL) courses, to assess their relevance as tools for undergraduate surgical education, and create a design framework targeted at standardizing future SBL. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of the literature using a specific keyword strategy to search at MEDLINE database. RESULTS: Of the 2371 potentially eligible titles, 472 were shortlisted and only 40 explored active interventions in undergraduate medical education. Of those, 20 were conducted in the United States, 9 in Europe and 11 in the rest of the world. Nineteen studies assessed the effectiveness of SBL by comparing students' attributes before and after interventions, 1 study assessed a new tool of surgical assessment and 16 studies evaluated SBL courses from the students' perspectives. Of those 40 studies, 12 used dry laboratory, 7 wet laboratory, 12 mixed, and 9 cadaveric SBL interventions. The extent to which positive results were obtained from dry, wet, mixed, and cadaveric laboratories were 75%, 57%, 92%, and 100%, respectively. Consequently, the SBL design framework was devised, providing a foundation upon which future SBL interventions can be designed such that learning outcomes are optimized. CONCLUSIONS: SBL is an important step in surgical education, investing in a safer and more efficient generation of surgeons. Standardization of these efforts can be accelerated with SBL design framework, a comprehensive guide to designing future interventions for basic surgical training at the undergraduate level.
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify and critically appraise all literature surrounding simulation-based learning (SBL) courses, to assess their relevance as tools for undergraduate surgical education, and create a design framework targeted at standardizing future SBL. METHODS: We performed a systematic review of the literature using a specific keyword strategy to search at MEDLINE database. RESULTS: Of the 2371 potentially eligible titles, 472 were shortlisted and only 40 explored active interventions in undergraduate medical education. Of those, 20 were conducted in the United States, 9 in Europe and 11 in the rest of the world. Nineteen studies assessed the effectiveness of SBL by comparing students' attributes before and after interventions, 1 study assessed a new tool of surgical assessment and 16 studies evaluated SBL courses from the students' perspectives. Of those 40 studies, 12 used dry laboratory, 7 wet laboratory, 12 mixed, and 9 cadaveric SBL interventions. The extent to which positive results were obtained from dry, wet, mixed, and cadaveric laboratories were 75%, 57%, 92%, and 100%, respectively. Consequently, the SBL design framework was devised, providing a foundation upon which future SBL interventions can be designed such that learning outcomes are optimized. CONCLUSIONS: SBL is an important step in surgical education, investing in a safer and more efficient generation of surgeons. Standardization of these efforts can be accelerated with SBL design framework, a comprehensive guide to designing future interventions for basic surgical training at the undergraduate level.