The role of simulation in urological training e A quantitative study of practice and opinions Abdullatif Aydin a , Kamran Ahmed a,* , Ahmed M.A. Shafi a , Muhammad Shamim Khan b , Prokar Dasgupta a,b a MRC Centre for Transplantation, King's College London, United Kingdom b Department of Urology, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom article info Article history: Received 16 March 2015 Accepted 4 June 2015 Available online xxx Keywords: Surgical education Urology Surgical simulation Urological training Survey abstract Introduction: Over the past few decades, simulation-based training has rapidly been adopted by many centres for effective technical and non-technical skills training, as a supple- mentary method to traditional operating room experience. The aim of this study is to assess the current practice in training and seek opinion regarding the future role of simulation in urological training. Methods: A cross sectional survey was designed and distributed amongst expert and trainee urological surgeons. The survey consisted of twenty-two questions that were split into three sections; Introduction (6), Technical Skills training in urology (10) and Non-technical skills training in urology (6). Results: A total of 91 residents and 172 specialists completed the survey. In both groups, there was an agreed consensus that laparoscopic training and exposure was insufficient as only 21% of trainees and 23% of specialists believed that they had sufficient training in this area. Furthermore, both groups lacked simulation-based training in common urological procedures including nephrectomy (62%), cystoscopy (69e74%), ureteroscopy (47e59%), transurethral resection of the prostate (56e65%) and percutaneous renal surgery (76e73%). 90% of trainees and 70% of specialists believed (agreed and strongly agreed) that there is a role for non-technical skills simulation in urological training. Conclusions: Simulation training has been under-used thus far and trainees face an uphill challenge to enhance their skills and technical abilities in the operating room. Simulation is recommended by both trainees and specialists and may represent one of the solutions to the challenges of safe and effective urology procedural training. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Scottish charity number SC005317) and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. * Corresponding author. Specialist Registrar in Urology, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, London. Tel.: þ44 (0)7939319670. E-mail address: kamran.ahmed@kcl.ac.uk (K. Ahmed). Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect The Surgeon, Journal of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Ireland www.thesurgeon.net the surgeon xxx (2015) 1 e7 Please cite this article in press as: Aydin A, et al., The role of simulation in urological training e A quantitative study of practice and opinions, The Surgeon (2015), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.surge.2015.06.003 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.surge.2015.06.003 1479-666X/© 2015 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Scottish charity number SC005317) and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.