Practice Patterns and Learning Curves of Obgyn Residents Preparing for the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) Exam

Abstract

Study Objective As of 2018, all graduating OBGYN residents are expected to complete and pass a Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) exam. Very few studies on FLS implementation in OBGYN residency programs exist. The aim of this study is to describe practice patterns and learning curves of OBGYN residents preparing for the manual skills portion of the FLS exam. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting OBGYN residency program at a large urban academic medical center. Patients or Participants 33 OBGYN residents, post-graduate years one (PGY1) to three (PGY3). Interventions An FLS curriculum, consisting of coached and self-practice sessions. Measurements and Main Results Residents recorded time spent on each training session, as well the type of trainer used and amount of supervision. For every task, residents recorded proficiency metrics, such as time to completion and penalties. Preliminary analysis of four PGY3 residents who took the exam showed that recorded number of repetitions for tasks 1-5 ranged from 1 to 22 and best time without penalties ranged from 30 to 315 seconds. Performance data and learning curves for each task will be presented for every resident. None of the residents met FLS suggested proficiency criteria for all tasks prior to the exam, and all residents passed the manual portion of FLS exam with wide margins (score range 527-673, with 356 as the national passing score). Correlational analyses of performance on each individual task with final exam score, as well as improvement in scores with each repetition, will be calculated when more participants complete training and have final exam scores available. Conclusion Our study compares FLS practice times, modality, and learning curves with final manual exam scores, which will be of great use to OBGYN residencies across the country as they implement FLS curricula into their programs.