profession
Residents should refine skills at simulation centers, report says
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 7, 2013
Thoroughly evaluating surgical residents to ensure they have the necessary technical and nontechnical skills is essential to ensuring patient safety in the operating room, says a report in the January Journal of the American College of Surgeons (link).
Medical educators should evaluate surgeons in training for deficiencies in operative performance. Residents who are found lacking in certain skills should undergo additional training. Simulation centers offer a safe way for residents and surgeons to become proficient in new skills and undergo remediation, the report said.
“Simulation provides a viable and valid alternative for delivering educational training and remedial curricula and allows trainees to acquire skills that can transfer to the operating room in a safe, realistic setting without risk to the patient,” the report said.