Performance Assessment in Minimally Invasive Surgery

Abstract

Minimally invasive surgery is a growing field, particularly with the addition of robotic-assisted options to laparoscopic tools. With this gain in technology comes the responsibility to properly train and assess the development and maintenance of surgical skills in physicians. Doing so is complicated, with countless methods of implementation, means of validation, curricula, and devices for the evaluation of both training and surgical performance. This chapter will review various ways of assessing the minimally invasive surgeon, including self-calculating scores generated by virtual reality simulators, curriculums complete with didactic and psychomotor training, analysis of technical and nontechnical skills, and emerging uses of both technology and human resources.