High educational impact of a national simulation-based urological curriculum including technical and non-technical skills

Background Although simulation training is increasingly used to meet modern technology and patient safety demands, its successful integration within surgical curricula is still rare. The Dutch Urological Practical Skills (D-UPS) curriculum provides modular simulation-based training of technical and non-technical basic urological skills in the local hospital setting. This study aims to assess the educational impact of implementing the D-UPS curriculum in the Netherlands and to provide focus points for improvement of the D-UPS curriculum according to the participants. Methods Educational impact was assessed by means of qualitative individual module-specific feedback and a quantitative cross-sectional survey among residents and supervisors. Twenty out of 26 Dutch teaching hospitals participated. The survey focussed on practical aspects, the D-UPS curriculum in general, and the impact of the D-UPS curriculum on the development of technical and non-technical skills. Results A considerable survey response of 95 % for residents and 76 % for supervisors was obtained. Modules were attended by junior and senior residents, supervised by a urologist, and peer teaching was used. Ninety percent of supervisors versus 67 % of residents judged the D-UPS curriculum as an important addition to current residency training ( p = 0.007). Participants’ aggregated general judgement of the modules showed a substantial percentage favorable score ( M ± SE: 57 ± 4 %). The impact of training on, e.g., knowledge of materials/equipment and ability to anticipate on complications was high, especially for junior residents (77 ± 5 and 71 ± 7 %, respectively). Focus points for improvement of the D-UPS curriculum according to the participants include adaptation of the training level to residents’ level of experience and focus on logistics. Conclusion The simulation-based D-UPS curriculum has a high educational impact. Residents and supervisors consider the curriculum to be an important addition to current residency training. Focus points for improvement of the D-UPS curriculum according to the participants include increased attention to logistics and integration of a spiral learning approach.