Abstract

Introduction:  Reprioritisation of workforce resources during the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in reduced surgical exposure through the cancellation of elective operating lists and deployment of trainees to non-surgical specialties. The implications of this phenomenon on perceived confidence and capability of surgical trainees have been reported in qualitative studies, while quantitative effects on manual dexterity are alluded to but are harder to qualify. Our aim was to provide an indirect measure of the impact of the pandemic on surgical trainees’ technical skills, by comparing pre- and post-pandemic outcomes on surgical simulators.

Methods: We analysed performance data of newly appointed urology residents completing the European Basic Laparoscopic Urological Skills (E-BLUS) exercises as part of an annual UK course. Data from 2018 and 2019 were combined to measure “pre-pandemic’ performance, and data from the 2021 cohort used for “post-pandemic”.

Results and conclusion: Pre-pandemic performance was significantly better in two out of four E-BLUS practice tasks, and in both assessment tasks in either average time taken for task completion or overall pass rate. Our results provide quantitative evidence to support the notion that the coronavirus pandemic has had a tangible and detrimental effect on the technical skills of surgical trainees. It is important that going forwards more resources are dedicated to ‘catching up’ trainees who have had a compromised experience during this time, either through local interventions or widespread curriculum change.

Additional Information

This presentation was given at the SES 2022 online conference, January 2022.