"Boot camp" simulator training in open hilar dissection in early cardiothoracic surgical residency.

Background: We evaluated focused training in lung hilar dissection with a reanimated porcine lung model in the boot camp setting.

Methods: A total of 64 first-year cardiothoracic surgical residents participated in four consecutive hours devoted to training in open hilar dissection as part of the Thoracic Surgical Directors Association boot camps. Each resident participated in two open hilar dissections. Component tasks were assessed on a 5-point rating scale for the first and second dissections.

Results: Immediate assessment performed after completion of the session showed improvements in all graded components. The mean total score on a 50-point scale improved significantly between the first and second repetition (36.03 ± 7.03 to 41.16 ± 6.95; p = 0.001).

Conclusions: Focused massed (single-session) practice in the boot camp setting improved the ability of residents to perform hilar dissection on simulators using reanimated porcine lung models. Given these early successes in massed simulation-based surgical education, there is good reason to expect that deliberate and distributed practice on similar simulators would improve resident education in cardiothoracic surgery.