Assessing the need for robotic surgery training in standard medical education: insights from medical students

Abstract

Objective: Robotic surgical approaches are increasingly utilized; however, standard medical school curricula omit this topic. This study examines the need for robotic-specific surgical education from the medical students' perspective. Design: A 10-question web-based survey was designed to assess factors including class year, intended specialty, exposure to robotic surgery, and perceived necessity for robotic surgery education. The survey was validated by small group of surgical residents. Setting: This study was conducted at a busy tertiary academic center. Participants: Survey was distributed to 425 post-core clerkship medical students. Results: Out of 79 respondents (18.5% response rate), 71% had some exposure to robotic surgery. The majority (72%) of respondents, regardless of their intended specialty, agreed on the necessity to learn about robotic surgery. Respondents identified terminology, proper patient counseling, and bedside assisting skills as potential topics to incorporate in robotic surgery medical school curricula. Conclusions: Medical students irrespective of their intended specialty favor robotic surgery specific education. These findings underscore the need to incorporate robotics education into core medical school curricula.