Proficiency Based Progression Training Versus Traditional Training During a Robotic Emergency Conversion Due to a Vessel Injury in a Simulated Setting: a Prospective, Randomized, Multicenter Clinical Trial: The T-REC Trial

In a prospective, randomized and blinded study surgical residents (n = 48) from Belgium university (i.e. the Katholieke Universiteit [KU] Leuven and University of Gent residency training programs) will be enrolled and randomized to Traditional type training proficiency-based progression (PBP) training to learn how to perform an emergency scenario where open conversion is necessary due to vessel injury during robotic surgery on a dry lab model. Specifically, this study will include four independent arms, each employing different training methodologies for technical skills (TS) and non-technical skills (NTS).

Group 1 will receive standard training for both TS and NTS. Group 2 will receive PBP training for TS and standard training for NTS. Group 3 will receive standard training for TS and PBP training for NTS. Group 4 will receive PBP training for both TS and NTS.

All four group will receive the same e-learning on TS and NTS (on an emergency scenario where (simulated) open conversion is necessary due to vessel injury during robotic surgery on a dry lab model). The PBP trained group will however be required to demonstrate quantitively defined proficiency benchmarks for training progression (i.e., for the e-learning, TS and NTS). The Traditional trained group will train in the same laboratory for a case-matched period of time as the PBP group, with the same level of supervising faculty proctors and using the same training resources but with no proficiency benchmarks.

Investigators will be trained in pairs to assess performance from a pre-defined set of explicitly defined binary metric events reliably (inter-rater reliability > 0.8). They will also be blinded as to the identity of the trainee performing the procedure, how they were trained (i.e., group) and procedure order.

H1 It is hypothesized that implementation of PBP training in teaching TS and NTS for surgeons in the context of an emergency scenario where (simulated) open conversion is necessary due to vessel injury during robotic surgery, leads to better surgical training outcomes (i.e., lower number of performance errors) when compared to traditional training.