Task Deconstruction Facilitates Acquisition Of Transurethral Resection Of Prostate Skills On A Virtual Reality Trainer

Main Category: Prostate / Prostate Cancer
Also Included In: Urology / Nephrology
Article Date: 12 Jul 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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UroToday.com - Increasingly surgical education is being focused on specific procedural training techniques. These researchers at the University of Minnesota have shown the importance of breaking the procedure down into its specific steps and deconstructing the various tasks applied to each step of the procedure.

In a prospective randomized study with 18 trainees, who had no previous exposure to transurethral resection of prostate (TURP), half of the group was randomized to training using a full task TURP training format versus the other half undergoing task deconstruction training. Length of training time and the actual components of the procedural training were the same except for the steps and tasks were broken into distinct tasks in the study group. They discovered that trainees who underwent the deconstruction training showed significantly better improvement in their pre-test and post-test performance evaluation with regard to the amount of tissue resected and grams resected over the total time of using the cutting pedal. There was no significant difference noted in the number of bleeders coagulated, fluid consumed compared to grams of tissue resected or bleeders coagulated compared to time on the coagulation pedal. There was also no difference in the perforation rate between the two groups. However, interestingly the group of trainees who underwent the curriculum with task deconstruction had a higher approval rating of the simulator training compared to the group who underwent the full task training technique.

While it may seem intuitive that task deconstruction is superior to full task training, in novice surgeons the confirmation of this educational technique is important as the surgical disciplines begin to develop virtual reality simulated based surgical training. Attention to curriculum development and the stepwise learning of the surgical procedure are critical elements of surgical education.

Kishore TA, Beddingfield R, Holden T, Shen Y, Reihsen T, Sweet RM
J Endourol. 2009 Apr;23(4):665-8.
doi:10.1089/end.2008.0531

Written by UroToday.com Contributing Editor Elspeth M. McDougall, MD, FRCSC, MHPE

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