• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SAGES

Reimagining surgical care for a healthier world

  • Home
    • COVID-19 Annoucements
    • Search
    • SAGES Home
    • SAGES Foundation Home
  • About
    • Who is SAGES?
    • SAGES Mission Statement
    • Strategic Plan, 2020-2023
    • Committees
      • Descriptions and Video Updates
      • Request to Join a SAGES Committee
      • SAGES Board of Governors
      • Officers and Representatives of the Society
      • Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs
      • Full Committee Rosters
      • SAGES Past Presidents
    • Donate to the SAGES Foundation
    • Awards
      • George Berci Award
      • Pioneer in Surgical Endoscopy
      • Excellence In Clinical Care
      • International Ambassador
      • IRCAD Visiting Fellowship
      • Distinguished Service
      • Early Career Researcher
      • Researcher in Training
      • Jeff Ponsky Master Educator
      • Excellence in Medical Leadership
      • Barbara Berci Memorial Award
      • Brandeis Scholarship
      • Advocacy Summit
      • RAFT Annual Meeting Abstract Contest and Awards
  • Meetings
    • COVID-19 Announcements
    • SAGES 2020 Meeting Information
    • 2021 Scientific Session Call For Abstracts
    • 2021 Emerging Technology Session Call For Abstracts
    • 2018 Prevent BDI Consensus Conference
    • CME Claim Form
    • Industry
      • Advertising Opportunities
      • Exhibit Opportunities
      • Sponsorship Opportunities
    • Future Meetings
    • Past Meetings
      • Leadership Development and Health Policy Conference Videos
      • SAGES Quality Summit Meeting
      • SAGES 2019
      • SAGES 2018
      • SAGES 2017
      • SAGES 2016
      • SAGES 2015
      • SAGES 2014
      • SAGES 2013
    • Related Meetings Calendar
  • Membership
    • Membership Benefits
    • Membership Applications
      • Active Membership
      • Affiliate Membership
      • Associate Active Membership
      • Candidate Membership
      • International Membership
      • Medical Student Membership
    • Member News
      • Member Spotlight
      • Give the Gift of SAGES Membership
  • Patients
    • Healthy Sooner – Patient Information for Minimally Invasive Surgery
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Choosing Wisely – An Initiative of the ABIM Foundation
    • All in the Recovery: Colorectal Cancer Alliance
    • Find a SAGES Member
  • Publications
    • COVID-19 Annoucements
    • SAGES Clinical / Practice / Training Guidelines, Statements, and Standards of Practice
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • TAVAC – Technology and Value Assessments
    • Surgical Endoscopy and Other Journal Information
    • SAGES Manuals
    • SCOPE – The SAGES Newsletter
    • Troubleshooting Guides
  • Education
    • SAGES.TV Video Library
    • Virtual Hernia Clinic
    • The SAGES Safe Cholecystectomy Program
    • The Safe Cholecystectomy Didactic Modules
    • Masters Program
      • SAGES Facebook Program Collaboratives
      • Acute Care Surgery
      • Bariatric
      • Biliary
      • Colorectal
      • Flexible Endoscopy (upper or lower)
      • Foregut
      • Hernia
      • Robotics
    • Educational Opportunities
    • The SAGES HPB/Solid Organ Program
    • Courses for Residents
      • Advanced Courses
      • Basic Courses
    • Endorsed Courses
    • SAGES Robotics Fellows Courses
    • MIS Fellows Course
    • Facebook Livestreams
    • Free Educational Webinars For Residents
    • SMART Enhanced Recovery Program
    • SAGES Quality Initiative
    • SAGES OR SAFETY Video
    • SAGES at Cine-Med
      • SAGES Top 21 MIS Procedures
      • SAGES Pearls
      • SAGES Flexible Endoscopy 101
      • SAGES Tips & Tricks of the Top 21
  • Opportunities
    • SAGES Research Opportunities
    • SAGES Endorsed Courses
    • Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery
    • Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery
    • Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy
    • Job Board
    • SAGES Go Global: Global Affairs and Humanitarian Efforts
    • Fellowship Certification
  • Search
    • COVID-19 Announcements
    • Search All SAGES Content
    • Search SAGES Guidelines
    • Search the Video Library
    • Search the Image Library
    • Search the Abstracts Archive
  • Blog
    • All Blog Posts
    • COVID-19
    • Notes from the Battlefield
    • A (Positive) Way Forward
    • President Posts
  • Log In

FLS Skill Acquisition: A Comparison of Blocked versus Interleaved Practice

Steven B Goldin, MD, PhD, Gregory T Horn, BA, Michael J Schnaus, BA, Mark Grichanik, BA, Adam Ducey, BA, Charles Nofsinger, MD, David Hernandez, MD, Murray Shames, MD, Mark Zakaria, MD, Michael T Brannick, PhD. University of South Florida.

Introduction: Fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS) certification is required for general surgery. FLS training requires a significant time commitment from residents to master the FLS skills. The recommended practice for learning FLS, as stated on the FLS website and in other papers, is to practice tasks one at a time until proficient (blocked practice). Learning theory suggests that interleaved practice, a method in which tasks are rotated rather than learned one at a time, may result in superior learning.

Method: Residents in general surgery, orthopedic surgery, and OB/GYN at USF Morsani College of Medicine were randomized into one of two groups: blocked practice (with a pattern of practice of AABBCCDD) or interleaved practice (with a pattern of practice of ABCDABCD). We compared the performance of residents across groups over 20 trials of each of four FLS tasks (peg transfer, pattern cut, extracorporeal suture, intracorporeal suture). Four weeks later, participants returned to the lab and completed two additional trials of each of the four tasks, in order to assess for longer-term retention of skill.

Results: Performance on each of the tasks, as measured by time to complete a task, improved with increased practice. The interleaved group showed significantly better performance during the learning process, and it showed better performance (but not always significantly so) on retention (Images 1-4). Standardized mean differences in favor of the interleaved group were substantial both at the end of practice and at follow-up (table 1).

Conclusion: Interleaved practice appears to have advantages over blocked practice in developing and retaining FLS skills. Furthermore, in 3 out of 4 of the tasks (peg transfer, extra corporeal, and intracorporeal suturing), the mean retention of skill for the interleaved group was below the mean pass score of PGY-5 residents who passed the FLS exam in 2009-2010. Retention of skill was above the mean for the block group in all 4 tasks. These findings all point to a benefit of interleaved practicing over blocked practice when it comes to FLS preparation. We encourage others to experiment with the method to confirm our findings.
 

Image 1. Peg Transfer

Image 2. Pattern Cut

Image 3. Extracorporeal Suture

 

Image 4. Intracorporeal Suture

Table 1. Standardized mean difference (d) values comparing blocked and interleaved groups on final two (19,20) and follow-up (21,22) trials.

Task Trials 19,20 Trials 21,22
Peg Transfer 12.28 0.99
Pattern Cut 1.36 0.22
Extracorporeal Suture 2.14 0.95
Intracorporeal Suture 1.95 0.88

 

Post Views: 140

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • WhatsApp
  • Reddit

Related

« Return to SAGES 2014 abstract archive

Our Mission

Innovate, educate and collaborate to improve patient care.

Recently, on SAGES…

Free SAGES Webinar: Lessons from COVID on Living and Thriving as Surgeons

SAGES recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a big impact on surgical practice and in surgeon wellness. SAGES’ Reimagining the Practice of Surgery Taskforce will present “Finding the Opportunities: Lessons from COVID and How We Live and Thrive as Surgeons”  to look at ways in which innovative leadership at various levels may help transform […]

Daniel Herron, MD

An opportunity to slow down and appreciate the small joys in life

Dan Herron, MD shares insights with Dana Telem, MD on lessons learned from COVID-19 Fear, anxiety and uncertainty has dominated the first half of 2020. Never before have we, as healthcare providers, been asked to do so much with so little—whether it’s resources like personal protective equipment, dusting off skills related to critical care, or […]

covid testing stock

Notes from the Battlefield – May 14, 2020

Coronavirus Global Surgical Collaborative (CVGSC)* An initiative sponsored by SAGES in collaboration with EAES, AEC, KSELS, and ELSA A group of surgical leaders from affected countries have joined to discuss what they are learning during this Covid-19 Global crisis. The following is a brief summary of what they feel may be useful information to disseminate to the surgical […]

Contact SAGES

Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
11300 W. Olympic Blvd Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90064 USA
webmaster@sages.org
Tel: (310) 437-0544

Find Us Around the Web!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Newsletter Subscription

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Important Links

SAGES 2020 Meeting Information

Healthy Sooner: Patient Information

SAGES Guidelines, Statements, & Standards of Practice

SAGES Manuals

 

  • taTME Study Info
  • Foundation
  • SAGES.TV
  • MyCME
  • Educational Activities

[footer_backtotop] · Log in

Copyright © 2021 Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons · Legal
· Managed by BSC Management, Inc