The Use of Surgical Simulators to Reduce Errors

Abstract

The training of a surgeon includes the acquisition of a number of characteristics. These include a cognitive knowledge base, problem formulation and decisionmaking abilities, appropriate psychosocial relationships, and other attributes that can be measured with objective testing, such as national board or specialty certifying examinations. Perhaps most critical to the surgeon, however, are the core technical skills of the profession. A battery of sophisticated devices is being created to teach and provide objective evaluations of the trainee’s technical abilities. These innovative state-of-the-art simulation devices, used to teach basic skills and surgical tasks through repetitive proctored challenges, will enable detection and analysis of surgical errors and near miss incidents without risk to patients. As with flight simulation, near miss detection capabilities anticipate potential errors before they occur and prevent resulting complications. In collaboration with a number of otolaryngology residency programs, we have developed a comprehensive training curriculum, based on complementary