Interest of a short and structured training to laparoscopy: an opinion survey upon residents

Simulation represents, nowadays, an important pedagogic tool facilitating the learning of laparoscopic surgical skills especially to young residents. It is a safe way that allows them to overcome their deficiencies and it impacts directly their capacities in the operating room facing real patients. Our study was conducted on 28 residents in the General Surgery Department and the Gynecology/ Obstetrics Department. We evaluated their satisfaction after their participation in, at least, one training session carried out in the simulation unit of the faculty of Medicine of Monastir in Tunisia and the interest of this structured training in their subsequent practice of laparoscopy. For this, we distributed an anonymous questionnaire to the residents assessing their age, specialty, the number of training sessions in which they have participated, the type and the disponibility of instruments, their level of satisfaction and finally their suggestions in order to improve the quality of the training. Results have shown that 43% of the residents were generally satisfied at the end of the training session. The training on animals was the most appreciated for 11 participants and all the sessions were payable. According to 14 of them, this type of learning have enhanced their self-confidence and helped them control stressing conditions in their daily practice. Furthermore, 18 residents have noticed a significant improvement of their dexterity while operating in real conditions. The different studies conducted on the same subject have related an increasing interest of the simulation in the training of young surgeons and the enhancement of their surgical performances. Therefore, we need a tested verified training in order to answer the residents’ needs and include it in their global curriculum as a safe efficient teaching tool.