Introduction and Objective: To evaluate the use of the da Vinci Surgical Skills SimulatorTM (dVSSS) in competency assessment of robotic skills of urology Post-Graduate Trainees (PGTs) during Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs).
Methods: PGTs in Post-Graduate Years (PGY-3 to PGY-5) from two Quebec urology training programs were recruited. During a 20-minute OSCE station, PGTs were asked to fill in a questionnaire and perform two tasks: Pick and Place, and Energy Dissection level 1. For each exercise, the norm-referenced method was used to establish a passing score to determine competency. The participant was considered competent if he/she gained the passing score on both tasks.
Results: All 9 PGTs who attended the OSCE voluntarily participated in the study. They had performed a median of 10 (IQR: 2.5–16) laparoscopic procedures, 2 (0–8) robotic procedures, and assisted 10 (IQR: 0–15) robotic procedures at the bedside prior to this OSCE. Based on a passing score of 90 for task 1 and 72 for task 2, there were 3 (33%) competent PGTs, all of whom were from PGY-5 level. Therefore, there was significant difference among PGY levels in terms of competency (p = 0.01). When compared with PGTs, experts had performed significantly higher numbers of robotic procedures (5.2 – 2.4 vs. 25 – 8.7; p = 0.02). However, there was no significant difference in the performance parameters between PGTs and experts in both tasks.
Conclusion: This study confirms that the da Vinci Surgical Skills SimulatorTM was able to assess competency of urology PGTs during OSCE.