Role of instruction method in novices' acquisition of minimally invasive surgical basic skills.

Introduction: We investigated the impact of instruction method on novices' acquisition of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) basic skills.

Materials And Methods: One hundred five novice medical students underwent text-based (TB), video-based (VB), or faculty-tutored (FT) single-session instruction in three basic MIS skill tasks on a box trainer. Pre- and postsession, participants completed a 12-item, 5-point Likert-type scale (1=Not confident at all, 5=Completely confident) of self-efficacy for performing basic MIS skills and had performances on each task recorded.

Hand-eye dominance and depth perception effects in performance on a basic laparoscopic skills set.

Objectives: Our study determined whether depth perception defects and hand-eye dominance affect an individual's ability to perform laparoscopic skills.

Methods: The study cohort comprised 104 third-year medical students from LSU School of Medicine who completed a questionnaire including information on handedness and were tested for eye dominance and depth perception by using standardized methods. Training sessions involved an initial recorded performance, a 20-minute practice session, followed by a final recorded performance.

Surviving disaster: assessment of obstetrics and gynecology training at Louisiana State University-New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina.

Background: After Hurricane Katrina, the 2 primary teaching sites for Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans were destroyed. In this study, we examine the measures the Louisiana State University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology took to provide uninterrupted education for Obstetrics and Gynecology residents and the outcome of those measures.

Methods: Information was gathered from the program director's office and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education website.