Novel Transparent Urinary Tract Simulator Improves Teaching of Urological Operation Skills at a Single Institution

Abstract

Objective: This randomized controlled study compared a novel transparent urinary tract simulator with the traditional opaque urinary tract simulator as an aid for efficiently teaching urological surgical procedures. Methods: Senior medical students were tested on their understanding of urological theory before and after lectures concerning urinary system disease. The students received operative training using the transparent urinary tract simulator (experimental group, n = 80) or the J3311 opaque plastic urinary tract simulator (control, n = 80), specifically in catheterization and retrograde double-J stent implantation. The operative training was followed by a skills test and student satisfaction survey. Results: The test scores for theory were similar between the two groups, before and after training. Students in the experimental group performed significantly better than those in the control group on the procedural skills test, and also had significantly better self-directed learning skills, analytical skills, and greater motivation to learn. Conclusion: During the initial step of training, the novel transparent urinary tract simulator significantly improved the efficiency of teaching urological procedural skills compared with the traditional opaque device.