Development and Validation of Virtual Laparoscopic Hiatal Hernia Simulator (VLaHHS)
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Summary
The goal of this study is to establish the face, content, discriminant and predictive validity of the Virtual Laparoscopic Hiatal Hernia Simulator (VLaHHS). The study population includes GS residents. The goal of developing scenarios for the simulator will be accomplished first and establishing the validity of the VLaHHS will be conducted in three phases after that: 1. Needs assessment survey of current practices in laparoscopic hiatal hernia repair a. Development of scenarios and metrics for the VLaHHS b. Assessment of validity of metrics developed for VLaHHS 3\) Assessment of validity of VLaHHS 1. Phase I - Face and content Validity Assessment of VLaHHS 2. Phase II - Discriminant Validity Assessment of VLaHHS 3. Phase III - Learning Curve, Retention and Transfer Assessment (predictive validity) of VLaHHS Part 3- Phase III of this study is the interventional portion while rest of the parts and phases do not involve an intervention. The goal of this phase of the study is to establish the learning curve and predictive validity of the VLaHHS. The hypothesis is that the subject trained in VLaHHS will improve their skills compared to control with no training and show better transfer of skills on to an actual procedure.
Description
The learning curve of VLaHHS will be established by training subjects in the task over extended period until they reach a plateau. The predictive validity will be established by comparing the training group with a control group with no training by testing their skills on a simulated surgical task using a crural repair silicone model and porcine fundoplication model. The experimental design is a between-subjects design with two groups to which participants will be randomly assigned: (1) Group 1 (Simulation Group): training with VLaHHS, (2) Group 2 (Control Group): no training. Two separate tas…