Developing a Curriculum to Teach Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery

Although a significant amount of work has been done to validate simulators as viable systems to teach technical skills outside the operating room, the next necessary step is to integrate simulator training into a comprehensive curriculum. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a comprehensive ex-vivo curriculum for laparoscopic colorectal surgery. This curriculum will include training on a virtual reality simulator, cognitive training and cadaver lab training. The investigators will assess the effectiveness of the curriculum by conducting a randomized single blinded controlled trial. The investigators will be comparing the technical performance of curricular trained and non-trained residents in the operating room, during a procedure on a patient. The investigators hypothesize that surgical residents who participate in the curriculum will have superior technical proficiency and cognitive knowledge relating to performing laparoscopic colorectal surgery compared to conventionally trained residents.

Inclusion Criteria:

• resident in general surgery
• post graduate year (PGY) 2 or higher
• performed less than 10 laparoscopic colorectal procedures independently