ORIGINAL ARTICLE Development and testing of a robotic surgical training curriculum for novice surgeons Sondra Summers • Jennifer Anderson • Amy Petzel • Megan Tarr • Kimberly Kenton Received: 30 December 2013 / Accepted: 4 August 2014 / Published online: 16 September 2014 Ó Springer-Verlag London 2014 Abstract A robotics practice curriculum was developed utilizing dry lab skills and testing parameters based upon the objective structured assessment of surgical tasks (OS- ATS) to determine its effectiveness in training novice surgeons. We recruited 20 medical students who were oriented to the DaVinci S console and instrumentation. They were pre-tested with four dry lab skills including manipulation, transection, suturing and knot tying. A control group was instructed to practice once weekly to attain proficiency and the intervention group was provided specific instructions regarding practice goals. Each subject was post-tested after a 6-week time. There were 17 students who completed the post-testing. All participants showed significant improvement in pre-test and post-test scores for manipulation (6.6–11.2, p \ 0.0005), transection (3.5–6.9, p \ 0.0005), knot tying (0.4–1.7, p = 0.003), and suturing (2.0–3.5, p = 0.001). There was no significant difference in pre-test and post-test scores between the control and intervention groups in manipulation, transection, knot tying, and suturing (p = 0.700, 0.782, 0.682, 0.605, respectively). Our study shows that novice surgeons such as medical students can improve dry lab robotics skills with instruction and practice. Keywords Robotics training Á Resident education Á Medical student education Introduction The use of robotic technology was FDA approved for laparo- scopic-assisted surgery in 2001; since that time many surgical specialties have adopted this innovation for their respective minimally invasive procedures. Numerous publications dem- onstrate the benefits of utilizing a robotic approach versus a laparotomy for gynecological procedures which include decreased blood loss, incisional infections, use of post-opera- tive analgesia, hospital stay and post-operative recuperation [1, 2]. For gynecological surgery, robotics-assisted procedures have been described in the literature to provide benefits similar to laparoscopic techniques for complex hysterectomy and myomectomy cases as well as for certain types of staging surgeries for gynecological malignancies and for pelvic pro- lapse procedures [3–5]. The use of robotics for multiple other surgical procedures has been reported including urological surgeries, head and neck procedures, cardiovascular surgery and abdominal surgery of the gastrointestinal tract [6–9]. Since the advent of robotics technology, the need for acquisition of surgical skills unique and specific for this technology has arisen; however, the optimal method of training and stage of learning for teaching these skills are unknown [10, 11]. Although robotic training programs for residents, fellows and experienced surgeons are described, little is known about teaching robotic surgery to novice surgeons [12, 13]. Previous studies have compared dry lab surgical skill performance of novice learners to experi- enced surgeons, with the results showing that after com- pletion of the program, the performance scores of expert surgeons were similar to that of the novice learners [14]. One widely accepted method of teaching surgical skills consists of a structured curriculum with both didactics and hands on simulation exercises specific to the surgical task. This model incorporates a gradual implementation of S. Summers (&) Á J. Anderson Á A. Petzel Á M. Tarr Á K. Kenton Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA e-mail: sondrasmmrs253@gmail.com 123 J Robotic Surg (2015) 9:27–35 DOI 10.1007/s11701-014-0484-x