Andrea Moglia1, Luca Morelli2,3, Vincenzo Ferrari2,4, Mauro Ferrari2, Franco Mosca5, Alfred Cuschieri6,7. 1. EndoCAS, Center for Computer Assisted Surgery, University of Pisa, 56124, Pisa, Italy. andrea.moglia@endocas.unipi.it. 2. EndoCAS, Center for Computer Assisted Surgery, University of Pisa, 56124, Pisa, Italy. 3. Multidisciplinary Center of Robotic Surgery, University Hospital of Pisa, 56124, Pisa, Italy. 4. Information Engineering Department, University of Pisa, 56122, Pisa, Italy. 5. Cisanello Teaching Hospital of Pisa, 56124, Pisa, Italy. 6. Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa, 56214, Pisa, Italy. 7. Institute for Medical Science and Technology, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD2 1FD, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is an increasing interest for a test assessing objectively the innate aptitude for surgery as a craft specialty to complement the current selection process of surgical residents. The aim of this study was to quantify the size of individuals with high, average, and low level of innate psychomotor skills among medical students. METHODS: A volunteer sample of 155 medical students, without prior experience with surgical simulator, executed five tasks at a virtual simulator for robot-assisted surgery. They had to reach proficiency twice consecutively in each before moving to the next one. A weighting based on time and number of attempts needed to reach proficiency was assigned to each task. RESULTS: Nine students (5.8%) out of 155 significantly outperformed all the others on median (i.q.r.) weighted time [44.7 (42.2-47.3) min vs. 98.5 (70.8-131.8) min, p < 0.001], and number of attempts to reach proficiency [14 (12-15) vs. 23 (19-32.75), p < 0.001). Seventeen students (11.0%) scored significantly much worse than the rest on median weighted time [202.2 (182.5-221.0) min vs. 84.3 (65.7-114.4) min, p < 0.001], and number of attempts [42 (40-48) vs. 22 (17.25-28), p < 0.001]. Low correlation between simulator scores and extracurricular activities, like videogames and musical instruments, was found. CONCLUSIONS: The test successfully identified two groups straddling the large cohort with average innate aptitude for psychomotor skills: (i) innately gifted and (ii) with scarce level. Hence, exercises on a virtual simulator are a valid test of innate manual dexterity and can be considered to complement the selection process for a surgical training program, primarily to identify individuals with low innate aptitude for surgery and advise them to consider specialization in other (non-craft) medical specialties.
BACKGROUND: There is an increasing interest for a test assessing objectively the innate aptitude for surgery as a craft specialty to complement the current selection process of surgical residents. The aim of this study was to quantify the size of individuals with high, average, and low level of innate psychomotor skills among medical students. METHODS: A volunteer sample of 155 medical students, without prior experience with surgical simulator, executed five tasks at a virtual simulator for robot-assisted surgery. They had to reach proficiency twice consecutively in each before moving to the next one. A weighting based on time and number of attempts needed to reach proficiency was assigned to each task. RESULTS: Nine students (5.8%) out of 155 significantly outperformed all the others on median (i.q.r.) weighted time [44.7 (42.2-47.3) min vs. 98.5 (70.8-131.8) min, p < 0.001], and number of attempts to reach proficiency [14 (12-15) vs. 23 (19-32.75), p < 0.001). Seventeen students (11.0%) scored significantly much worse than the rest on median weighted time [202.2 (182.5-221.0) min vs. 84.3 (65.7-114.4) min, p < 0.001], and number of attempts [42 (40-48) vs. 22 (17.25-28), p < 0.001]. Low correlation between simulator scores and extracurricular activities, like videogames and musical instruments, was found. CONCLUSIONS: The test successfully identified two groups straddling the large cohort with average innate aptitude for psychomotor skills: (i) innately gifted and (ii) with scarce level. Hence, exercises on a virtual simulator are a valid test of innate manual dexterity and can be considered to complement the selection process for a surgical training program, primarily to identify individuals with low innate aptitude for surgery and advise them to consider specialization in other (non-craft) medical specialties.
Entities:
Keywords:
Innate ability test for surgery; Innate aptitude for surgery; Robotic surgery simulator; da Vinci simulator
Authors: Jason Y Lee; Phillip Mucksavage; David C Kerbl; Victor B Huynh; Mohamed Etafy; Elspeth M McDougall Journal: J Urol Date: 2012-01-20 Impact factor: 7.450
Authors: Christina E Buckley; Dara O Kavanagh; Tom K Gallagher; Ronan M Conroy; Oscar J Traynor; Paul C Neary Journal: J Am Coll Surg Date: 2013-09-17 Impact factor: 6.113
Authors: Samer G Mattar; Adnan A Alseidi; Daniel B Jones; D Rohan Jeyarajah; Lee L Swanstrom; Ralph W Aye; Steven D Wexner; José M Martinez; Sharona B Ross; Michael M Awad; Morris E Franklin; Maurice E Arregui; Bruce D Schirmer; Rebecca M Minter Journal: Ann Surg Date: 2013-09 Impact factor: 12.969
Authors: Kelvin H Kramp; Marc J van Det; Christiaan Hoff; Nic J G M Veeger; Henk O ten Cate Hoedemaker; Jean-Pierre E N Pierie Journal: Med Educ Date: 2016-04 Impact factor: 6.251
Authors: Daniel M Costello; Isabel Huntington; Grace Burke; Brooke Farrugia; Andrea J O'Connor; Anthony J Costello; Benjamin C Thomas; Philip Dundee; Ahmed Ghazi; Niall Corcoran Journal: J Robot Surg Date: 2021-09-03
Authors: Intessar Sultan; Mohammed Fuad Bardi; Abdulrahman Mohammed Baatta; Saif Almaghrabi; Rehab Abdelfattah Mohammed Journal: J Med Educ Curric Dev Date: 2022-01-11