Download PDF
CC BY 4.0 · Surg J (N Y) 2021; 07(03): e222-e225
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1733991
Original Article

Surgical Skills Olympiad: A 4-Year Experience in a General Surgery Residency Program

Kurun P. S. Oberoi
1   Division of General/Minimally Invasive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey
,
Akia D. Caine
1   Division of General/Minimally Invasive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey
,
Jacob Schwartzman
1   Division of General/Minimally Invasive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey
,
David H. Livingston
2   Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey
,
Aziz M. Merchant 
1   Division of General/Minimally Invasive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey
,
Anastasia Kunac
2   Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, Department of Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
   Permissions and Reprints

Abstract

Background The acquisition of operative skills is the critical defining component of general surgery training. Performing simulated tasks has been shown to increase a resident's technical skills. As such, we devised the Surgical Skills Olympiad, an annual simulation-based skills competition. We examined our 4-year experience with the Olympiad at a large academic general surgery residency program.

Objective This study aimed to use competition to motivate trainees to increase the time they spent practicing basic surgical skills, resulting in improved performance over time.

Methods Teams were formed from members of each postgraduate year (PGY) class. Competition tasks were level specific: knot tying for PGY-1, basic laparoscopy for PGY-2, handsewn bowel anastomosis for PGY-3, vascular anastomosis for PGY-4, and advanced laparoscopy for PGY-5. Task scores over a 4-year period (2014–2017) were analyzed and a survey of participating teaching faculty was conducted.

Results Ten faculty members responded to the survey, for a response rate of 63%. A total of 50% respondents felt that the caliber of surgical skills increased since the Olympiad was implemented. Ninety percent agreed that the Olympiad was beneficial for residents to assess their skills against their peers. Over 4 years, there was an improvement in scores for suturing task, advanced laparoscopy, and bowel anastomosis (p < 0.05 for all three).

Conclusion A residency-wide surgical skills competition can improve resident performance in technical tasks and promote faculty engagement in resident skills training.

Keywords

surgical simulation - surgical Olympiad - skills training - residency skills - residency training - surgical education


Publication History

Received: 07 February 2021

Accepted: 29 June 2021

Article published online:
26 August 2021

© 2021. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 

  • References

  • 1 Mattar SG, Alseidi AA, Jones DB. et al. General surgery residency inadequately prepares trainees for fellowship: results of a survey of fellowship program directors. Ann Surg 2013; 258 (03) 440-449
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 2 Yeo H, Viola K, Berg D. et al. Attitudes, training experiences, and professional expectations of US general surgery residents: a national survey. JAMA 2009; 302 (12) 1301-1308
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Hamstra SJ, Dubrowski A, Backstein D. Teaching technical skills to surgical residents: a survey of empirical research. Clin Orthop Relat Res 2006; 449 (449) 108-115
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Egle JP, Malladi SV, Gopinath N, Mittal VK. Simulation training improves resident performance in hand-sewn vascular and bowel anastomoses. J Surg Educ 2015; 72 (02) 291-296
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 ACGME. ACGME program requirements for graduate medical education in general surgery. Accessed July 15, 2021 at: https://www.acgme.org/Portals/0/PFAssets/ProgramRequirements/440_GeneralSurgery_2020_TCC.pdf?ver=2020-06-22-090105-260
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 6 King N, Kunac A, Merchant AM, Anjaria DJ. Development and validation of an affordable, nonperishable suturing simulator. Am Surg 2017; 83 (02) e39-e42
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Morris M, Caskey R, Mitchell M, Sawaya D. Surgical skills training restructured for the 21st century. J Surg Res 2012; 177 (01) 33-36
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Jiang DJ, Wen C, Yang AJ. et al. Cost-effective framework for basic surgical skills training. ANZ J Surg 2013; 83 (06) 472-476
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 El-Beheiry M, McCreery G, Schlachta CM. A serious game skills competition increases voluntary usage and proficiency of a virtual reality laparoscopic simulator during first-year surgical residents' simulation curriculum. Surg Endosc 2017; 31 (04) 1643-1650
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 10 Leraas HJ, Cox ML, Bendersky VA. et al. Instituting a surgical skills competition increases technical performance of surgical clerkship students over time. J Surg Educ 2017
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Enter DH, Lee R, Fann JI. et al. “Top Gun” competition: motivation and practice narrows the technical skill gap among new cardiothoracic surgery residents. Ann Thorac Surg 2015; 99 (03) 870-875 , discussion 875–876
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Sanfey HA, Dunnington GL. Basic surgical skills testing for junior residents: current views of general surgery program directors. J Am Coll Surg 2011; 212 (03) 406-412
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 McCreery GL, El-Beheiry M, Schlachta CM. Local and national laparoscopic skill competitions: residents' opinions and impact on adoption of simulation-based training. Surg Endosc 2017; 31 (11) 4711-4716
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 14 Verdaasdonk EG, Dankelman J, Schijven MP, Lange JF, Wentink M, Stassen LP. Serious gaming and voluntary laparoscopic skills training: a multicenter study. Minim Invasive Ther Allied Technol 2009; 18 (04) 232-238
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 15 Ardestani A, Sheu EG, Nepomnayshy D. et al. Surgical skills competitions at ACS chapter meetings can increase resident engagement. Bull Am Coll Surg 2016; 101 (05) 44-45
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Matsuo T, Takahashi O, Kitaoka K. et al. Resident burnout and work environment. Intern Med 2021; 60 (09) 1369-1376
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Napolitano LM, Savarise M, Paramo JC. et al. Are general surgery residents ready to practice? A survey of the American College of Surgeons Board of Governors and Young Fellows Association. J Am Coll Surg 2014; 218 (05) 1063-1072.e31
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar