The Role of Medical Simulations in Surgical Residency Programs

Medical school graduates training to become surgeons must partake in surgical residency programs for anywhere from 3 to 7 years. Surgical residency programs give residents hands-on training to learn, practice, and develop their surgical skills before entering the profession for real. 

The first years of surgical residency programs use medical simulations to help train residents without risking the health and safety of human patients. Since surgeon trainees are liable to make mistakes, surgical simulation helps improve their surgical skills in a safe, secure, risk-free environment. 

Simulation-based surgical training laboratories can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to set up for trainees. However, the laboratories are necessary to create realistic simulations in a structured environment where they learn to perform surgeries faster and on schedule for the benefit of the patients. 

Every type of medical simulation serves a critical role in training medical school graduates in surgical residency programs. Below are the top four medical simulations for surgical residency programs and how they train graduates effectively. 

1) Trauma Mankins

Surgical residents will often work with trauma manikins in their first years in surgical residency programs. Trauma manikins are modular patient models composed of several different simulated internal organs and components of a human body. Residents work with these manikins to identify, diagnose, and treat all kinds of wounds, ranging from minor to severe. 

Unlike standard simulated manikins, the modulation design of the trauma manikins allows residency programs to train residents on treating various types of medical emergencies and conditions. Some examples of these simulated trauma conditions include stabbing injuries, first to third-degree burns, open fractures, varicose veins, lower knee amputations, bleeding & non-bleeding wounds, and abdominal injuries. 

An advanced trauma modular kit is more expensive than a standard manikin kit with one or two simulated medical conditions. However, it is worth the extra investment because it reduces the need to purchase multiple manikins and allows surgical residents to treat multiple conditions simultaneously. It is reflective of a real-life scenario where a patient may have multiple injuries that need treatment.

2) High-Fidelity Virtual Reality Environments

Virtual reality is one of the safest medical simulations for surgical residency programs. It transports residents to a virtual reality environment that simulates a hospital or clinical setting. The residents can practice diagnosing, treating, and counseling virtual patients as if they were real patients to enhance their skills. There is no chance of anyone getting hurt because none of the patients in virtual reality are real. 

Surgical residency programs may use one or more surgery simulation platforms to train their residents, such as PrecisionOS or Osso VR. These surgery simulation platforms generate realistic, high-fidelity VR medical environments that simulate authentic surgical situations. Residents will develop deeper experiences and understanding of these environments without worrying about making mistakes. 

The most advanced VR surgical simulation platforms allow virtual surgeons to hear, see and even feel their surroundings to make the experience as realistic as possible. By the time surgical residents complete the VR simulations, they will have more confidence and skills to apply their newfound knowledge in real-life surgical settings. 

3) Simulated Patients

Simulated patients are real people who pretend to be patients suffering from various medical conditions to create medical simulations for surgical residents. Simulated patients have undergone the necessary training and education needed to act out their parts realistically. The idea is to give the residents the experience of interacting and communicating with human patients, even though it is still a simulation. 

The surgical residents don’t actually perform real surgery on the simulated patients. Instead, they simulate the before-and-after of the surgical experience for the surgeon and patient. For example, residents will perform the standard preparations for surgery, such as answering questions, educating the patient about the procedure, and administering a simulated anesthetic. Next, they simulate what happens after the surgery regarding the post-recovery treatment and consultations.  

4) Animal Models

Animal models represent one of the older forms of medical simulations in surgical residency programs. Residents would often practice their surgical skills on live pigs to simulate the experience of treating a living thing with surgery. However, with the advancements of virtual reality and high-fidelity manikin technology, fewer residency programs use animal models anymore. They find it is much more ethical and humane to use these technologies for practicing surgery so that animals are not harmed in the process. 

The Cycle of Medical Simulations in Surgical Training

Medical simulations begin in medical school and continue through surgical residency and professional development. Medical students working to become surgeons will become very familiar with various simulation technologies and methodologies before, during, and after their surgical training. 

Here is a brief rundown of the cycle of medical simulations in surgical training:

1) Medical School

Medical students practice using simulated medications and low-fidelity manikins to develop basic medical skills, such as CPR, drawing blood, IV insertions, and administering medicine. Developing these skills is standard for all medical students, including those working to become surgeons.

2) The Residency Application Process

Students who graduate from medical school will need to apply to a surgical residency program to begin their surgical specialty training for the next several years. Some residency program leaders use simulation as part of the screening and application processes to test the skills and competency of residency applicants. 

3) Pre-Surgical Internship

Some surgical residency programs require applicants to sign up for a pre-surgical internship. It is basically an introduction to the surgical residency program, where applicants learn about performing surgical patient care and the technical and interpersonal skills they will acquire. Virtual reality simulation training is often used to introduce applicants to the residency program. 

4) Surgical Residency

Surgical residents in the residency program will work with trauma manikins and simulated patients to obtain hands-on skills in their surgical specialty. They will have a senior monitor or advisor watching their performance to ensure it is done right. 

5) Continuing Education

Professional surgeons never stop learning about new developments and techniques in their field of surgery. Part of their continuing education requirements includes simulated skills training to brush up on past skills while developing new skills based on the latest surgical methodologies introduced in their field. 

Conclusion

Medical simulations play an invaluable role in surgical residency programs. They give residents a chance to acquire and repeatedly practice their surgical skills without risking harm to human patients. Surgical residencies have now become in-depth training programs that require advanced simulation technology to make them successful.