Best available evidence for teaching interventions in advanced minimally invasive surgery: data summary
| Intervention; study* | No. and type of participants | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Courses | ||
| See et al (13) | 128 respondents | Ongoing association with surgeons performing similar procedures decreases long-term complication rates |
| Colegrove et al (17) | 166 respondents | Few respondents are maintaining the skills acquired during the original training course, lap cases decreasing |
| Birch et al (18) | 65 respondents | Courses have positive short-term impact on knowledge, skills, practice patterns |
| Course and proctoring | ||
| Heniford et al (19) | 32 course-only 15 course + proctoring | Proctoring after courses increased adoption rates |
| Heniford et al (20) | 48 course-only 15 course + proctoring | Proctoring after courses increased adoption rates |
| Mentoring | ||
| Stolzenburg et al (21) | 1 mentor/4 trainees | Mentorship, modular concept to teaching laparoscopic prostatectomy successful |
| Cook et al (22) | 1 mentor/4 trainees | Mentorship positively impacts on MIS practice patterns |
| Skrekas et al (23) | 1 mentor/1 trainee | Mentorship allows safe introduction of laparoscopic prostatectomy |
| Birch et al (24) | 1 mentor/7 surgeons | Mentoring process is an effective strategy for introducing advanced MIS into practice |
| Mini-residency | ||
| Corica et al (25) | 32 candidates | A 5-day intensive laparoscopic surgery course seems to encourage the expansion of laparoscopic cases |
| Mini-fellowship | ||
| Shalhav et al (26) | 1 mentor/2 trainees | Provides successful training for laparoscopic urologic procedures |
MIS = minimally invasive surgery.
↵* Search strategy: “laparoscopy” AND “mentors” (MeSH); limits set to human, abstracts (21 articles identified); abstracts reviewed and manuscripts selected that discuss outcomes of comprehensive training programs. “Laparoscopy” AND “education” (subheading) OR “education, medical, continuing” (MeSH); limits set to abstracts, English, publication date from 1990 to 2007, humans, core clinical journals (141 articles identified); abstracts reviewed and manuscripts selected that discuss outcomes of comprehensive training programs.