ACS-AEI Shines Spotlight on Outstanding Work in Simulation-Based Surgical Skills Education in 2022

This year’s Annual ACS Surgical Simulation Summit pivoted to a virtual platform in January to ensure attendees were given access to the selected presentations of original and innovative research in simulation-based surgical education and training. 

The 2022 ACS-AEI Call for Abstracts brought in 58 abstract submissions for review by the AEI Program and Review Committee for this year’s research forum. Presentations represent works from 30 AEIs across 15 states and three countries.

Last spring, the 2022 Program Chair Deborah M. Rooney, PhD, and Program Vice-Chair Alexander Perez, MD, FACS, ushered in updates to the AEI abstract submission process. The most significant change was expanding the abstract categories to include a Collaborative Works section to promote multi-institutional or interdisciplinary work. The debut of the Collaborative Works Papers section was well-received, and we anticipate it will be offered for future conferences.

Twelve Papers Recognized in the ACS-AEI’s Premier Research Forum This Year

The quality of the 2022 submissions was outstanding, which made making decisions difficult for the Program and Review Committee. Twelve authors were ultimately selected to present their original research to attendees. Authors representing the Original and Collaborative Works sections provided podium presentations of their work to the AEI consortium. Topics were diverse, ranging from works that implemented novel technologies and distance learning mechanisms for technical skills training to employing interprofessional team-training for communication skills training. We thank all presenters and discussants for their contributions to these sessions. We also would like to thank session moderators, Robert B. Lim, COL(Ret.), MD, FACS, FASMBS, professor of surgery, Oklahoma University School of Medicine at Tulsa, and Vice-Chair of Education for Surgery, and Mark Aeder, MD, MS, FACS, FAST, associate professor of surgery, transplant and hepatobiliary surgery, director of surgical quality UHCMC, and director of transplant quality UHTI, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, who adeptly managed their sessions. We would like to recognize the presenters and their excellent work and the discussants who contributed to the sessions.

2022 ACS-AEI Original Papers, Thursday, March 3, 10:40 am–12:10 pm CT

Matthew Tadlock, MD, FACS, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, CA
Novel Synchronous Augmented Reality Surgical Mentoring System in the Performance of Trauma Procedures: Initial Results of the ARTEMIS Study
Discussant: John Christopher Graybill, MD, FACS, San Antonio Military Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX

Kathryn Howard, MD, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI
The Effect of an Attending versus Neutral Observer on Peg Transfer and Intracorporal Knot Tying Laparoscopic Tasks
Discussant: Aimee K. Gardner, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine, Dallas, TX

Anya Greenberg, MBA, University of California–San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Robotic Training for Medical Students: Feasibility of a Pilot Simulation Curriculum
Discussant: Emily Huang, MD, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH

Dong-Kha Tran, MD, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL
Socially Distanced Resident Training in the COVID Era: The Development and Implementation of a Novel At-Home, Internet-Based Laparoscopic Training Platform
Discussant: James N. Lau, MD, MHPE, FACS, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL

Julie Hartman, DC, MS, Center for Procedural Skills and Simulation, University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City, IA
Using Table-Top Simulation to Promote Systems Thinking in Surgical Residents
Discussant: Gladys L. Fernandez, MD, UMass Chan Medical School–Baystate, Springfield, MA

Mohammad Karimzada, MD, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Which Tasks Are Hard and Who’s Faster? Evaluating an Advanced Open Surgical Skills Curriculum
Discussant: Katherine McKendy, MD, McGill University, Montreal, QC

Sarah Lund, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Surgical Skills and Distance Learning: Comparing Feedback Videos with Correct Versus Error-Containing Examples
Discussant: Jose Velasco, MD, FACS, FCCM, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL

2022 ACS AEI Collaborative Works, Thursday, March 3, 1:00–2:00 pm CT

Emily Burke Rivet, MD, FACS, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
From Chaos to Creativity: Designing Collaborative Communication Training for the Delivery of Bad News
Discussant: Cate Nicholas, EdD, MS, PA, FSSH, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT

C. Yoonhee Ryder, BS, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Validation of Performance Measures of Laparoscopic Salpingostomy Using Novel Low-Cost Ectopic Pregnancy Simulator
Discussant: Nicole Kissane Lee, MD, EdM, FACS, Indiana University, Department of Surgery, Indianapolis, IN

Joshua Matthews, BA, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
AMPATH Surgical App: Open Appendectomy
Discussant: Mayur Narayan, MD, MPH, MBA, MHPE, FACS, FCCM, FICS, DABS, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY

Julie Clanahan, MD, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
Training Together in Trauma: A Model for Cross-Departmental Collaboration
Discussant: Luis E. Llerena, MD, FACS, CAMLS/USF Health, Tampa, FL

Gordon G. Wisbach, MD, MBA, FACS, Navy Medicine Readiness & Training Command, San Diego, CA
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on American College of Surgeons-Accredited Education Institutes: Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Discussant: Sharon Muret-Wagstaff, PhD, MPA, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA

Best In Show

Congratulations to the 2022 ACS Surgical Simulation Summit’s Best in Show winner, Sarah Lund, MD, for her outstanding presentation, “Surgical Skills and Distance Learning: Comparing Feedback Videos with Correct Versus Error-Containing Examples,” which she presented during the Thursday morning Original Papers session. We applaud Dr. Lund and her team’s innovation and research rigor and extend an award of a complimentary registration to the 2023 Surgical Simulation Summit. Congratulations!

Five Innovators Pursue Collaboration in Innovations in the Simulation-Based Education Session

The ACS-AEI’s much anticipated “Innovations in Simulation-Based Education” session—also known as “Shark Tank”—offers a unique platform to foster innovation in simulation-based surgical education that encourages innovators to present their research targeting novel product or curricula to garner collaboration from interested AEIs to bring this research to fruition.

We would like to thank this year’s moderator and panel of “sharks” for offering their expertise in the innovator’s field and guidance for the next steps. We would also like to thank our presenters.

Moderator Robert M. Rush, Jr., COL(Ret.), MD, FACS, Past Program Chair and Medical Director, Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Service at PeaceHealth St. Joseph’s Center, and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Surgery, University of Washington, who skillfully performed his duties as moderator and Shark panelist.

Shark Panelists

Daniel Hashimoto, MD, MS, Flexible Endoscopy and Foregut Surgery Fellow, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Instructor of Surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Carla Pugh, MD, PhD, FACS, Thomas Krummel Professor of Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine

Dimitrios Stefanidis, MD, PhD, FACS, FASMBS, FSSH, Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair of Education; Chief, MIS/ Bariatric Surgery; Surgical Director, IU Skills Laboratory, Department of Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine

Selected Presenters

Cassandra Hickey, DO, Navy Medicine Readiness & Training Command, Portsmouth, VA
Vascular Emergency Surgery: Simulated Exercises for Limb Salvage (VESSELS)—Development of a Simulation Model for the Military General Surgeon

Banu Kose, PhD, Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey
A Surgineering Approach to Coarctation Repair

Mia Benavidez, BSA, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Galveston, TX
Novel Lower Extremity Fasciotomy Model Using In-Hospital Fabrication

Alexa Cotter, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan College of Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI
Addressing a Training Gap: Development of a Novel Priapism task trainer

Evan Geller, MD, FACS, Touro University Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
Development of a High-Fidelity Surgical Simulation Utilizing the Unreal Gaming Engine

2022 Selection of Scientific Posters Draws Attendees Online in 2022 for Simulation Research

The popular Scientific Poster presentations were provided in an on-demand format for 2022, offering attendees a broad scope of simulation research to advance surgical simulation and improve patient outcomes for review at their own pace. The 21 posters selected for presentation this year were grouped into six themes, Improving Operative Outcomes, Novel Applications of Technologies, Novel Simulators and Training Modalities, Novel Curricula, and Assessment.

Congratulations to this year’s four top-scoring Poster of Distinction winners:

Nicholas Anton, MS, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
Utilizing Eye-Tracking to Assess Resident Non-Technical Skills in Simulation: Results of a Pilot Study

Kathryn Howard, MD, Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI
The Impact of the Mental Skills Curriculum on the Stress Response of Surgical Residents Performing a Simulated Task

Rachel Jensen, MD, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
An Innovative Endovascular Surgery Simulation Module Using 3-Dimensional (3D) Printed Models

Mark Solinski, BS, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL
Impact of Virtual Suture Workshop for High School Students

Novel Applications of Technologies

Nicholas Anton, MS, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
Utilizing Eye-Tracking to Assess Resident Non-Technical Skills in Simulation: Results of a Pilot Study
2022 Poster of Distinction

Rachel Jensen, MD, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
An Innovative Endovascular Surgery Simulation Module Using 3-Dimensional (3D) Printed Model
2022 Poster of Distinction

Fatemeh Rashidi Fathabadi, PhDc, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI
Real-Time Multi-Object Detection for the Peg Transfer Task in a Virtual 3D Space of a Laparoscopic Box-Trainer

Assessment

Xhesika Shanja-Grabarz, MD, Northwell Health North Shore/Long Island Jewish, New Hyde Park, NY
Uniform Improvement in Self-Assessed Skill and Confidence during Sensor-Based Robotic Simulator Pilot Study

Steven Long, PhD, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
Establishing the Reliability of an Orthopaedic Wire Navigation Skill Assessment

Joe Nigh, MD, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR
Impact of Formal Robotic Surgery Curriculum on Resident Perceptions of Robotic Surgery

Improving Operative Outcomes

Sarah Benammi, MD, University Mohamed V of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco
Does First Assistant Surgeon’s Experience in a Training Program without Simulation Training Impact Surgical Outcome?

Neal Getty, PhD, Data Science and Learning Division at Argonne National laboratory, Lemont, IL
Toward a Context Awareness System Based on Machine Learning with OR Videos to Improve Patient Safety and OR Efficiency

Novel Curricula

Julie Cox, RN, CCRN, Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, TX
High-Fidelity, Multidisciplinary, In-Situ Simulation Training: A Novel ECMO Program Process Improvement Project for Low-Frequency, High-Risk Events

Kathryn Howard, MD, Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI
The Impact of the Mental Skills Curriculum on the Stress Response of Surgical Residents Performing a Simulated Task
2022 Poster of Distinction

LaDonna Kearse, MD, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
A Review of Military-Developed Simulation-Based Training Suitable for Civilian Surgeons

Madhuri Nagaraj, MD, MS, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX
Advanced Techniques in Laparoscopic Suturing (ATLAS): Optimization for National Curriculum Launch

Shannon Sturgeon, BS, Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Parker, CO
Qualitative Analysis of Second and Third Year Medical Student Experiences with a High-Fidelity Postpartum Hemorrhage Simulation

Novel Simulators

Lisa Clemens, MS, PA-C, and Cortney Hartman, MBA, CST, CRCSTCIS, FAST, Parkview Health, Fort Wayne, IN
Development of a Cost-Effective Simulation-Based Central Line Task Trainer

Ana Lourido, MD, Universidad del Cauca, Popayan, Colombia
Development of a Low-Cost Training Model for Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration

Training Modalities

Hugo Enrique Estrada, MD, Hospital Juárez de México, México City, México
Virtual Education in General Surgery during COVID-19 Pandemia: Experience in Junior Residents of Hospital Juárez de México

Jessica Marie Gonzalez-Vargas, MS, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA
From the Theory to the Practice: How Online Training Impacts Surgical Residents’ CVC Knowledge and Mechanical Skills

Joshua Harkins, DO, MSEd, OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, OH
Efficacy of Didactic Education versus Experiential Learning in Pulmonary Artery Catheterization

Lindsay Haskett, MSN, RN, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
Utilizing Flipped Classroom Simulation to Teach Rapid Response in Surgical Residency Preparation Course

Mark Solinski, BS, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL
Impact of Virtual Suture Workshop for High School Students
2022 Poster of Distinction

Haroula M. Tzamaras, BS, Penn State University, State College, PA
From Start to Finish: The Impact of a Whole Procedural Trainer on CVC Self-Efficacy and Proficiency

Thank you to our 2022 AEI Program and Review Committee for their commitment to providing the ACS-AEI Forum with the highest-quality research in the field of surgical simulation-based education and training.

Program and Review Committee

2022 Program Chair

Deborah M. Rooney, PhD
Clinical Simulation Center, University of Michigan School of Medicine

2023 Program Chair

Alexander Perez, MD, FACS
University of Texas Medical Branch Laboratory for Surgical Training, Assessment and Research (LSTAR)

Members

Kareem R. AbdulFattah, MD UT
Southwestern Simulation Center

Yazan N. AlJamal, MB, BS
Mayo Clinic Simulation Centers

Nicholas Anton, MS
Indiana University School of Medicine

Laura S. Bonanno, PhD, DNP, CRNA
LSU Heath New Orleans

Jonathan M. Dort, MD, FACS
INOVA

Kristoffel Dumon, MD, FACS
Simulation at Penn Medicine

Karla J. Felix, PhD
HSS

Antonio Gangemi, MD, FACS
University of Illinois at Chicago

Deborah D. Garbee, PhD, APRN, ACNS-BC, FCNS
LSU Health New Orleans

James V. Harmon, MD, PhD, FACS
University of Minnesota SimPORTAL

Sarah A. Jung, PhD
UW Health Clinical Simulation Program

James N. Lau, MD, MHPE, FACS
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Department of Surgery

Sharon Muret-Wagstaff, PhD
Carlos and Davis Center for Surgical Anatomy and Technique (CSAT) of Emory University

Caroline Park, MD, MPH
UT Southwestern Simulation Center

Humza Saleem, MD
Mayo Clinic Simulation Centers

Kris Siriratsivawong, MD, FACS
Showa University

Stephen F. Small, MD
University of Chicago Simulation Center

Glen H. Tinkoff, MD, FACS
Case Western Reserve University Center for Skills and Simulation (CWRU CSS)

Vicky J.H. Yeh, PhD
Mayo Clinic Simulation Centers

Boris A. Zevin, MD, PhD, FRCSC
Kingston General Hospital