Acquisition of Advanced Surgical Skills Utilizing High-Fidelity Dynamic Animal Laboratory Modules is Highly Desired by Surgery Residents.

Background: The American College of Surgeons/Association of Program Directors in Surgery (ACS/APDS) in 2007 to 2008 created a 3-phase Surgery Resident Skills Curriculum to enhance resident training through reproducible simulations before operative experience: Phase 1 (basic surgical skills), Phase 2 (advanced skills/procedures), and Phase 3 (team-based skills). Animal models provide a unique real-world dynamic live experience simulating the operating room (OR). The study assesses residents' feedback/satisfaction on utilizing animal models for advanced/complex procedures.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed evaluations completed by residents from 2008 to 2024 for procedures included in ACS/APDS phases 1/2 and complex procedures in a faculty-proctored animal laboratory. Residents scored their experience on Likert scale from 1 to 4 (1 = unacceptable, 2 = marginal, 3 = Good, and 4 = Excellent). Five areas were assessed, including Tasks for the Training Level, Degree of Difficulty for the Training Level, Preparation for the lab, Setting, and Guidance. Additionally, residents were allowed to provide comments on their feedback. Descriptive statistics were calculated. The chi-squared test was used. We used SPSS (29.0) in the analysis.

Results: Fifty-three general surgery residents [31 (58.5%) males, and 22 (41.5%) females] completed 114 evaluations as follows: 43 assessments (37.7%) by PGY1, 38 (33.3%) by PGY2, 14 (12.3%) by PGY3, 12 (10.5%) by PGY4, and 7 (6.1%) by PGY5. Residents' feedback was positive, with all assessed areas receiving favorable grading (i.e., excellent/good), with 93% for Tasks for Training Level, 92.1% for Degree of Difficulty for Training Level, 90.4% for Preparation, 97.4% for Setting, and 93% Guidance). Less than 10% of the assessed area received marginal scores by PGY1 and PGY2. Animal labs were highly desired by senior residents (Table 1).

Conclusion: Animal laboratories are highly desired by residents and provide unique opportunities to perform advanced/complex procedures, similar to OR environment, but importantly, in a safe setting before operating on humans.