Bronchoscopy Simulation Training as a Tool in Medical School Education.

Background: Procedural simulation training is rare at the medical school level and little is known about its usefulness in improving anatomic understanding and procedural confidence in students. Our aim is to assess the impact of bronchoscopy simulation training on bronchial anatomy knowledge and technical skills in medical students.

Methods: Medical students were recruited by email, consented, and asked to fill out a survey regarding their baseline experience. Two thoracic surgeons measured their knowledge of bronchoscopy on a virtual reality bronchoscopy simulator using the Bronchoscopy Skills and Tasks Assessment Tool (BSTAT), a validated 65-point checklist (46 for anatomy, 19 for simulation). Students performed four self-directed training sessions of 15 minutes per week. A posttraining survey and BSTAT were completed afterward. Differences between pretraining and posttraining scores were analyzed with paired Student's t tests and random intercept linear regression models accounting for baseline BSTAT score, total training time, and training year.

Results: The study was completed by 47 medical students with a mean training time of 81.5 ± 26.8 minutes. Mean total BSTAT score increased significantly from 12.3 ± 5.9 to 48.0 ± 12.9 (p < 0.0001); mean scores for bronchial anatomy increased from 0.1 ± 0.9 to 31.1 ± 12.3 (p < 0.0001); and bronchoscopy navigational skills increased from 12.1 ± 5.7 to 17.4 ± 2.5 (p < 0.0001). Total training time and frequency of training did not have a significant impact on level of improvement.

Conclusions: Self-driven bronchoscopy simulation training in medical students led to improvements in bronchial anatomy knowledge and bronchoscopy skills. Further investigation is under way to determine the impact of bronchoscopy simulation training on future specialty interest and long-term skills retention.