The newly revamped robotic surgery curriculum at Ohio State is a 5-year comprehensive training program that's intended to shift the learning curve for more rapid mastery of surgical skills. It begins with a series of dry labs, which is followed by case-specific pig labs, including high-volume procedures such as colectomy, gastrectomy and pancreatectomy. In addition to these weekly skills labs, residents can also participate in simulation training during each of their individual surgical rotations. Ohio State has also invested in state-of-the-art technology that better simulates human tissue to provide residents additional skill-set practice on their own time to learn procedures such as enteric anastomoses and bile duct anastomoses.
A standardized method for tracking case-specific progression and evaluation of skills, as well as a dashboard that captures the exact time that a resident operates on the robotic console, allows surgical faculty to monitor each individual resident’s growth and provide additional support as needed.
“This robotic simulation training is crucial for building surgical proficiency, but equally important, it boosts resident confidence prior to their time in a real operating room,” says Aslam Ejaz, MD, assistant professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology. “It’s a wonderful stepping stone to get our surgery residents ready for working with our providers in the Center for Advanced Robotic Surgery, one of the most comprehensive robotics program in the country, where they’ll use advanced technology systems while working with an entire multidisciplinary team on a wide range of cases.”
The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center surgeons were the first in the country to perform surgery with the da Vinci® robot, and we’ve been leading the field ever since. Performing roughly 1,600 robotic surgeries a year, we have the most experienced robotic surgical team in Ohio, and we offer the most comprehensive robotics program. Learn more about Ohio State’s Center for Advanced Robotic Surgery here.