Randomized double-blinded trial investigating the impact of a curriculum focused on error recognition on laparoscopic suturing training

Background: Error recognition predicts technical skill. A curriculum including error recognition may improve laparoscopic suturing performance. Methods: Thirty novices were randomized into 2 groups. Each viewed an instruction videotape and underwent timed objective structured assessments of technical skills. Group A practiced the task, group B viewed an error-instruction video, practiced, followed by re-assessment. Participants counted errors on a videotape. Data were analyzed with the Fisher exact text, the Wilcoxon test, and the Kendall tau test. Results: The improvement in task time was greater in group A than in group B (P < .001). The objective structured assessments of technical skills scores improved for both groups, but did not reveal differences between the groups. Group B recognized significantly more errors than group A (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The additional error instruction showed a negative impact on performance speed, but improved cognitive error recognition. Whether visual memory overload influenced the outcome requires further examination.