Clinical trial NCT01610466: Design and Validation of a Simulation-based Training Curriculum for Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery
Official title: Design and Validation of a Simulation-based Training Curriculum for Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Obesity
Keywords: Education
Simulation
Technical skills training
Laparoscopy
Bariatric Surgery
Lead sponsor: Unity Health Toronto
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
First posted: 2012-06-04
Enrollment: 24
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP

Brief summary: Laparoscopic bariatric surgery is an advanced laparoscopic procedure with a potential for significant morbidity and mortality along the early part of a surgeon's learning curve. Simulation-based training has been shown to improve a surgeon's technical performance and shorten the learning curves in the operating room. Despite these benefits, there is no evidence-based ex-vivo training curriculum for laparoscopic bariatric surgery. The purpose of this study is to design and validate such a curriculum. This curriculum will include cognitive training, technical laparoscopic skills training (laparoscopic gastrojejunostomy and jejunojejunostomy) and non-technical skills training in a simulated environment. The investigators will assess the effectiveness of the proposed curriculum by conducting a randomized single blinded controlled trial. Cognitive knowledge (multiple choice test), technical skills (performance of a procedure in the operating room) and non-technical skills (performance in a simulated crisis scenario in a simulated environment) will be compared between curriculum trained and conventionally trained groups. The investigators hypothesize that curriculum trained group will have superior knowledge, technical skill and non-technical skills compared to conventionally trained group.

Detailed description: OBJECTIVE: To design and validate a proficiency-based ex-vivo training curriculum for laparoscopic bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic bariatric surgery is an advanced laparoscopic procedure with a potential for significant morbidity and mortality along the early part of a surgeon's learning curve. Simulation-based training has been shown to improve a surgeon's technical performance and shorten the learning curves in the operating room. Despite these benefits, specific simulation-based training curricula have not been widely adopted in residency training programs. This is likely a result of the lack of valid simulation-based training curricula for minimally invasive operations. Presently, there is no evidence-based ex-vivo training curriculum for laparoscopic bariatric surgery. The purpose of this project is to develop and validate such a curriculum.

HYPOTHESIS: Completion of the proposed training curriculum is expected to result in superior cognitive knowledge, superior technical skills in the operating room, and superior performance in a simulated crisis scenario when compared to standard residency training.

METHODS: The evidence-based training curriculum will be made up of cognitive, technical, and non-technical components. The cognitive component will deliver procedure-specific knowledge, while the technical component will provide training in basic and procedure-specific laparoscopic skills. Non-technical component will address additional components of surgical competency including situation awareness, decision making, task management, leadership, communication and teamwork. Technical skills will be learned on a bench-top cadaveric porcine models. Training will follow a distributed practice schedule until preset proficiency benchmarks are achieved. The proposed training curriculum will be validated in a single-blinded randomized controlled trial comparing procedure-specific knowledge, technical performance in the operating room, and non-technical skills in a simulated crisis scenario for 12 surgical residents in the curricular training group and 12 residents in the standard residency training group. Cognitive knowledge will be assessed with a multiple choice examination. Technical performance will be assessed with previously validated procedure-specific and global rating scales. Non-technical skills will be assessed using a previously validated NOTECHS scale.

CONCLUSIONS: The design and implementation of the proposed training curriculum has the potential to affect surgical training programs on a national and international level by standardizing the proficiency of surgical trainees prior to the start of operating room training. This standardization is expected to shorten the learning curves and improve patient safety in the operating room.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Resident in general surgery at the University of Toronto
* Post - graduate year (PGY) 3 or 4
* Performed less than 10 laparoscopic bariatric operations independently

Exclusion Criteria:

* Residents in other surgical programs at University of Toronto
* Residents in general surgery at the University of Toronto in PGY1, 2, 5 or attending surgeons
* Residents who have performed great than 10 laparoscopic bariatric operations independently

Primary outcomes:
measure: Difference in operating room performance between curriculum trained and conventionally trained groups
timeFrame: 5 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Difference in cognitive knowledge between curriculum trained and conventionally trained groups
timeFrame: 5 months
measure: Difference in non-technical skills between curriculum trained and conventionally trained groups
timeFrame: 5 months
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Toronto
country: Canada
facility: St. Michael's Hospital
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: Unity Health Toronto
name: Teodor P Grantcharov, MD, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Zevin B, Aggarwal R, Grantcharov TP. Simulation-based training and learning curves in laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Br J Surg. 2012 Jul;99(7):887-95. doi: 10.1002/bjs.8748. Epub 2012 Apr 18.
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citation: Aggarwal R, Grantcharov TP, Darzi A. Framework for systematic training and assessment of technical skills. J Am Coll Surg. 2007 Apr;204(4):697-705. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2007.01.016. No abstract available.
citation: Fried GM, Feldman LS, Vassiliou MC, Fraser SA, Stanbridge D, Ghitulescu G, Andrew CG. Proving the value of simulation in laparoscopic surgery. Ann Surg. 2004 Sep;240(3):518-25; discussion 525-8. doi: 10.1097/01.sla.0000136941.46529.56.
citation: Aggarwal R, Boza C, Hance J, Leong J, Lacy A, Darzi A. Skills acquisition for laparoscopic gastric bypass in the training laboratory: an innovative approach. Obes Surg. 2007 Jan;17(1):19-27. doi: 10.1007/s11695-007-9001-x.
citation: Catchpole K, Mishra A, Handa A, McCulloch P. Teamwork and error in the operating room: analysis of skills and roles. Ann Surg. 2008 Apr;247(4):699-706. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0b013e3181642ec8.
citation: Sevdalis N, Davis R, Koutantji M, Undre S, Darzi A, Vincent CA. Reliability of a revised NOTECHS scale for use in surgical teams. Am J Surg. 2008 Aug;196(2):184-90. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2007.08.070. Epub 2008 Jun 16.
citation: Korndorffer JR Jr, Dunne JB, Sierra R, Stefanidis D, Touchard CL, Scott DJ. Simulator training for laparoscopic suturing using performance goals translates to the operating room. J Am Coll Surg. 2005 Jul;201(1):23-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jamcollsurg.2005.02.021.