Visual-spatial ability is more important than motivation for novices in surgical simulator training: a preliminary study.

Objective: To investigate whether surgical simulation performance and previous video gaming experience would correlate with higher motivation to further train a specific simulator task and whether visual-spatial ability would rank higher in importance to surgical performance than the above. It was also examined whether or not motivation would correlate with a preference to choose a surgical specialty in the future and if simulator training would increase the interest in choosing that same work field.

Methods: Motivation and general interest in surgery was measured pre- and post-training in 30 medical students at Karolinska Institutet who were tested in a laparoscopic surgical simulator in parallel with measurement of visual-spatial ability and self-estimated video gaming experience.

A pilot evaluation of an educational program that offers visualizations of cervical spine injuries: medical students' self-efficacy increases by training.

In this pilot study, a new method for visualization through imaging and simulation (VIS-Ed) for teaching diagnosis and treatment of cervical spine trauma was formatively evaluated. The aims were to examine if medical students' self-efficacy would change by training using VIS-Ed, and if so these changes were related to how they evaluated the session, and the user interface (UI) of this program. Using a one-group, pre-post course test design 43 Swedish medical students (4th year, 17 males, 26 females) practiced in groups of three participants.

Surgical novices randomized to train in two video games become more motivated during training in MIST-VR and GI Mentor II than students with no video game training.

We investigated if engagement modes and perceived self-efficacy differed in surgical novices before and after randomized training in two different video games during five weeks, and a control group with no training. The control group expressed to a higher extent negative engagement modes during training in MIST-VR and GI Mentor II than the experimental groups. No statistically significant differences in self-efficacy were identified between groups.

Endourological simulator performance in female but not male medical students predicts written examination results in basic surgery.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the correlation between endourological simulator performance and demonstrated theoretical knowledge in the basic surgical sciences.

Material And Methods: In total, 158 fourth year medical students participated in the study, 83 females and 75 males, all surgical novices. All students performed the flexible endoscopic task Hall of Fame in the urological simulator URO Mentor™.

Training diagnosis and treatment of cervical spine trauma using a new educational program for visualization through imaging and simulation (VIS): a first evaluation by medical students.

In this pilot study we investigated how medical students evaluated a VIS practice session. Immediately after training 43 students answered a questionnaire on the training session. They evaluated VIS as a good interactive scenario based educational tool.

Surgical simulation tasks challenge visual working memory and visual-spatial ability differently.

Background: New strategies for selection and training of physicians are emerging. Previous studies have demonstrated a correlation between visual-spatial ability and visual working memory with surgical simulator performance. The aim of this study was to perform a detailed analysis on how these abilities are associated with metrics in simulator performance with different task content.

Systematic video game training in surgical novices improves performance in virtual reality endoscopic surgical simulators: a prospective randomized study.

Background: Previous studies have shown a correlation between previous video game experience and performance in minimally invasive surgical simulators. The hypothesis is that systematic video game training with high visual-spatial demands and visual similarity to endoscopy would show a transfer effect on performance in virtual reality endoscopic surgical simulation.

Methods: A prospective randomized study was performed.