So you want to be a robotic surgeon?..then become a skilled laparoscopic surgeon first

Once you`ve tried a surgical robot like Davinci Xi, it becomes immediately obvious that this technology should be the gold standard and offers surgeons more degrees of freedom and dexterity. For junior doctors, one of the difficulties in getting a “head start” in robotic surgery is a lack of training opportunities. Sure there are national and international courses but these cost thousands of pounds and are only for 1-2 days of practical exposure. At JDSG, we subscribe to the philosophy that skill acquisition can only be achieved from informed repetition and thus continuous access to training facilities is a very important factor.

Simulator training for robotic surgery is not widely accessible partly because robotic simulators are extremely expensive.

Research shows that robotic surgical skills can be, at least in part, derived from psychomotor skills developed in a laparoscopic simulator, particularly for complex skills such as intracorporeal knot tying. Acquisition of robotic surgical skills may be further enhanced by practice on a laparoscopic simulator.

So if you are keen on robotic surgery and want to develop technical skills that will help you in your robotic training then laparoscopic simulation would be a good place to start. You can join one of our upcoming laparoscopic courses. Register your interest by sending an email to info@jdsg.org