Training surgical skills under accredited education: Our regional experience

Abstract

Computer-based technology has been sufficiently developed in medical training and education. However, as well as in other areas (flight pilots, nuclear energy operators, drivers, etc.) this technology has been included in other educational plans, in medicine it is a pending task yet. We present our work on the introduction of computer-based technology, mainly virtual simulation, into the university teaching plans at University of Las Palmas Medical School, the medicine residency programme and the update of physicians at the four Teaching Hospitals in Canary Islands. Through the realization of virtual simulation courses we have managed to introduce the technology into the health environment as an educational tool. Using commercial haptics devices and customizing and adapting its software, we have developed custom curricula for several medicine specialities. In order to measure the impact of the use of virtual simulation technology at the different levels of the medical environment, we have been using an evaluation survey in our training workshops, that aims to show an impression on the use of this technology. The survey focuses on general perception of the technology and how it may affect to their own professional career and work environment. As a consequence of the madurity of the educational program we have been working, with local and national institutions, on the accreditation of these courses to provide a certification of competencies obtained through the realization of virtual simulation courses. Simultaneously, we have improved our software framework intended for the development of surgical simulation applications [1]. The main goal of this paper is to demonstrate our experience itself and disseminate the results in order to be helpful to other similar groups. Also to share our open platform for development that could make scalable and sustainable this teaching model based on technology. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.