Participant Experience from the Portsmouth Basic Robotic Surgical Skills Course - Addressing an Unmet Need in Robotic Surgical Training

Abstract Aim The increasing utilisation of and patient preference for robotic surgery (Aggarwal et al., 2022) has been reflected by surgical trainees desiring greater access to robotic training, as recently demonstrated in a large pan-specialty snapshot study led by ASiT (Fleming et al., 2022). The Portsmouth Basic Robotic Surgical Skills (BRSS) course aims to leverage experience from a leading European robotic centre to address this training gap. Method The Portsmouth BRSS course (6 CPD points, ASGBI) has two components. The virtual component introduces the daVinci® (Intuitive Surgical, USA) platform, robotic instruments, and port placement principles. The hands-on component teaches theatre setup, docking, and teamwork, and provides experience of robotic dissection, suturing, and stapling using simulation and synthetic models. 129 participants have successfully completed the course, which ran 14 times in the last 5 years. This study quantitatively analysed course feedback to understand the value and impact of the robotic training provided. Results 101 feedback forms were analysed (28 pending). 87.1% (n = 88) rated the content as excellent. 84.2% (n = 85) thought they had made quite an or a major improvement in their robotic skills. 97.0% (n = 98) felt more capable using the robot after the course. 54.5% (n = 55) thought it would be >3 months before implementing their skills, due to needing more training (46.5%, n = 47) and/or lacking resources (45.5%, n = 46). Conclusions The Portsmouth BRSS course effectively addresses an important unmet need facing current trainees. Future work to address wider barriers in robotic training, such as a lack of higher skill training and accessible robotic resources, is needed.