Robot-Assisted Surgery Training for Medical Students in Low-Resource Areas: A Study Protocol

Robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), commonly associated with the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Inc.), has revolutionized minimally invasive surgery. As RAS systems are being increasingly adopted in teaching hospitals and used more frequently in procedures, there is a growing need for surgeons to be trained in this technology as early as the medical school years. In this article, we propose a potential low-resource, easily adoptable RAS pilot program that will be implemented at a medical school in Puerto Rico. A brief description of the program highlights faculty-led education, journal discussions, and simulation practice through hands-on modalities to establish early RAS proficiency in a feasible 2-week timeframe. By offering students early familiarity with robotic skills, this program may support specialty exploration and improve clinical preparedness. The goal of this pilot program proposal is not only to establish this protocol at a medical school in Puerto Rico but also to encourage other programs throughout the United States to consider adopting a similar training program in the hopes of making RAS training more ubiquitous in early medical training.