Deliberate Practice

Endoscopy Simulator

NES have funded 6 endoscopy simulators to be situated across training regions from early 2021. These provide the opportunity to accelerate the early acquisition of endoscopy skills to allow an early transition to full patient procedures. This should facilitate earlier accumulation of the necessary number of procedures for CCT. To be most effective trainees new to endoscopy should be offered dedicated training sessions to practice on the simulators. Ideally these should be scheduled sessions during the working day until technical competence is reached to maximise the experience within clinical endoscopy sessions. 

Skills Clubs

In-hospital Skills Clubs have been promoted within the Scottish Core Surgical Training programme to facilitate regular practice of practical skills such as suturing, hand-tying and bowel anastomosis. They are part of a wider drive to move training culture toward an expectation of deliberate practice and competency prior to patient contact. Having set this expectation through Core Surgical Training the aim is to continue this into higher surgical training. To be effective there must be scope to include new skills to challenge the higher surgical trainee, or low frequency skills that need to be maintained. Examples could include laparoscopic suturing, bile duct exploration or more complex anastomotic techniques.

Robotic Simulator

Over the coming year Scottish Government will invest in several robotic systems for use within general surgery. While initial training will be focussed on established consultants it is expected that over time trainees will also require training in this new modality. Simulators are in-built within the robotic platforms and should be utilised towards the end of Phase 2 in a manner similar to endoscopy simulators, or as part of a wider Skills Club format.

This page was last updated on: 18.08.2023 at 11.08