Evaluation of Basic Laparoscopic Surgical Skills course programme for surgery residents- at a simulation lab in south India

Introduction : Patient safety is the important priority in surgical education. The new training models and curriculum are needed for maintaining safety and quality of surgical performance. An established laparoscopic surgical skill(LSS) grade 1 level 1 programme running for surgical residents is being already taken up in various european countries under the support of European Association of Endoscopic Surgeons. Aim : The aim of the paper is to evaluate the perception of surgery residents on LSS Grade 1 Level 1 course in South India. Material and methods : A total of 5 accredited LSS Grade I Level 1 courses were held in GSL SMART LAB between April 2013 and December 2016. The demographic data and pre-course surgical experience in laparoscopic surgery of the participants were recorded. After completion of 12 hrs practice on endotrainer and lap mentor combined, the participants attended two days of basic laparoscopic surgical skill programme with different modes of assessment/examination related to basic laparoscopic skills. The participants filled the course evaluation form to evaluate course progress, course materials, assessment, staff, course location and overall impression of the course on a 1-10 scale to evaluate feedback information. Results : 34 surgery residents were enrolled in an LSS Grade I Level 1 programme. The mean age of the participants was 28.294 years (SD = 3.51), the male/female ratio was 31/3 and previous experience with laparoscopic surgery was limited. Overall impression of the course was rated with 8.8 points (SD = 0.78). The applicability of the course content in practice and the balance between theory and hands-on training were also rated very well – mean 8.8 (SD = 1.01) and 8.1 points (SD = 0.80) respectively. Conclusions : The result of this study shows that the course is a well balanced training programme, meeting the expectations of individual surgery residents. Hence, the overall interest in the programme suggests that it might become the future Indian standard of surgical education in laparoscopic surgery. Success of the course may be drawn after the completion of clinical assessment of enrolled participants.