Spatial Cognition in Surgical Practice: Exploring the Influence and Development of Spatial Cognitive Processes in Laparoscopic Skill Learning

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Laparoscopic surgery, also know as “keyhole surgery”, has proven highly advantageous for the patient compared to more conventional open surgery. However, the minimally invasive nature of laparoscopy imposes a set of unique spatial cognitive challenges that render this procedure notoriously difficult to acquire and master. Although the importance of spatial cognition in laparoscopic learning has already been established, the existing literature does not (or only partially) address many salient questions. Among others, it remains largely unclear 1) which specific spatial abilities influence laparoscopic technical skill learning, 2) how these abilities develop to shape surgical technical mastery over an extended period of time, 3) how these abilities develop in actual surgeons training in intraoperative environments, and 4) whether any individual and/or situational factors other than spatial abilities (e.g. institutional/political) exert any significant influence on the development of laparoscopic skills? The proposed project will address these questions by longitudinally tracking novice surgeons’ spatial abilities and technical laparoscopic skills over a two-year period as well as systematically assessing a) the current status quo of laparoscopic education in Germany and b) the cognitive profiles of the senior laparoscopic surgeons. In doing so, the proposed project will break new ground not only by shedding new light on the malleability of spatial abilities and theories of skill acquisition in surgical learning, but also by providing new data pertinent to improving surgical education.