Today’s Robotic Surgery Turns Surgical Trainees Into Spectators

July 8, 2022

(IEEE Spectrum) – In that old system, trainees were in charge for several hours of each procedure. It wasn’t much different for laparoscopic surgery (sometimes called “minimally invasive surgery”), in which tools and cameras are put into the patient via tiny slits. In those surgeries, trainees did much of the preliminary work and cleanup as well. This system of master-apprentice cooperation was so entrenched that hours spent in the operating room (OR) are still seen as a proxy for skill development.  That’s not working in robotic surgery. Surgical robots have become increasingly prevalent in hospitals ever since the da Vinci Surgical System was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2000. (Read More)