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. 2020 Mar 4;20(1):66.
doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-1979-y.

The development of a robotic gynaecological surgery training curriculum and results of a delphi study

Aemn Ismail  1   2 , Matthew Wood  3 , Thomas Ind  4 , Nahid Gul  5 , Esther Moss  6   3
Affiliations

The development of a robotic gynaecological surgery training curriculum and results of a delphi study

Aemn Ismail et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: Technology for minimal access surgery is rapidly progressing in all surgical specialities including Gynaecology. As robotic surgery becomes established in increasing numbers of hospitals, there is no set curriculum for training in robotic gynaecological surgery or the assistant role in use in the UK. The purpose of this study was to determine a list of competencies that could be used as the basis of a core robotic gynaecological surgery curriculum, to explore its acceptability and the level of interest in undertaking training in robotics among obstetrics & gynaecology (O&G) trainees.

Methods: A four-round Delphi study was conducted using members and associates of British & Irish Association of Robotic Gynaecological Surgeons (BIARGS). In Round 1 respondents were asked to propose standards that could be used in the curriculum. In the following three rounds, the respondents were asked to score each of the standards according to their opinion as to the importance of the standard. Items that scored a mean of 80% or above were included in the final proposed curriculum. Following this, a national survey was conducted to explore the interest among O&G trainees in undertaking a formal robotic training for the first assistant and console surgeon roles.

Results: The items proposed were divided into three separate sections: competencies for a medical first assistant; competencies for a console surgeon; continued professional development for trained console surgeons. From the national survey; 109 responses were received of which 60% were interested in undertaking a formal training for the first assistant role, and 68% are expressing interest in training for the console surgeon role.

Conclusion: Undertaking a Delphi exercise to determine a core gynaecological robotic training curriculum has enabled consensus to be achieved from the opinions of BIARGS members/associates. There is interest among O&G trainees at all levels of training to gain experience and develop their skills in robotic surgery by undertaking a formal training in robotic surgery at both the first assistant and console surgeon level.

Keywords: Console surgeon; Gynaecological surgery; Minimally invasive surgery; Robotic-assisted surgery; Surgical training.

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Conflict of interest statement

TI, NG and EM perform Da’Vinci robotic gynaecological surgery (Intuitive Surgical) and are members of the British and Irish Association of Robotic Surgeons (BIARGS), which is supported by Intuitive Surgical and other robotics/laparoscopic companies to hold education/training events. TI has done two days paid consultancy work for Medtronic. EM has been awarded a research grant from Intuitive Surgical. The authors declare no other potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Delphi study flowchart
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