Recently announced national postgraduate curricula in Denmark now require all resident obstetrician gynecologists to undergo a structured laparoscopic training on a virtual reality (VR) simulator to obtain permission to become a specialist in gynecology. Set by the Danish National Board of Health and advised by the http://www.dsog.dk/english_frontpage.shtml” target=”_blank”>Danish Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the new guidelines appear in a revised edition of the objectives for Obstetrics and Gynecology.
For several years, VR training has been mandatory for first-year resident gynecologists on a regional level in the eastern part of Denmark. The regional programs’ ongoing positive results provided the impetus for the national VR training standards action. The simulation-training requirement has been based on the educational courses of LapSim, a VR laparoscopic trainer from https://www.surgical-science.com/” target=”_blank”>Surgical Science, including both the Basic Skills and Gynecology Modules.
“Surgical training is a challenge for patient safety,” said Bent Ottesen, Professor and Director of The Juliane Marie Centre for Children, Women and Reproduction at http://www.rigshospitalet.dk/RHenglish/Menu/” target=”_blank”>Rigshospitalet, the Copenhagen University Hospital. “We really appreciate this development which requires resident training to not involve patients. Thanks to a successful collaboration between educational researchers, the physicians responsible for educational planning, and the management teams of the OB/GYN departments in Denmark, we can now require a specific level of laparoscopic competence before we allow surgical contact with live patients.”
“There is growing evidence that a graduated training program, starting with foundational knowledge and skills, then training via simulation, before transitioning to learning with patients, is highly effective, efficient and considerably more safe,” said Tim Willett, SIM-one’s Director of Research & Development. “This new Danish policy is putting research into practice.”