Evaluation of laparoscopic skills: a 2-year follow-up during residency training.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate laparoscopic technical skill in surgical residents over a 2-year period.

DESIGN: The laparoscopic technical skills of general surgical residents were evaluated using the MISTELS program. This provides an objective evaluation of laparoscopic skill, taking into account precision and speed.

SETTING: Inanimate laparoscopic skills centre.

PARTICIPANTS: Ten general surgical residents (5 PGY1, 3 PGY2 and 2 PGY3 residents) who were required to complete 3 structured laparoscopic tasks.

OUTCOME MEASURES: A composite score incorporating precision and timing was assigned to each task. The paired t-test was used to compare performance of each resident at the 2 levels of their residency training for each task. Linear regression analysis was used to correlated level of training and total score (sum of all tasks).

RESULTS: Linear regression analysis demonstrated a highly significant correlation between level of training and total score (r = 0.82, p < 0.01). There was a significant increase in scores in the cutting and suturing task over the 2-year period (p < 0.01). Transferring skills did not improve significantly (p = 0.11).

CONCLUSIONS: Performance in the simulator improved over residency training and was correlated highly with postgraduate year. This simulator model is a valuable teaching tool for training and evaluation of basic laparoscopic tasks in laparoscopic surgery.