Development of a robotic training curriculum for visceral and gastrointestinal surgical trainees: an international Delphi study
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background
The rapid adoption of robotic surgical systems globally has created a critical gap in training, assessment and certification for visceral and gastrointestinal (GI) surgical trainees. This study, led by the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES), aimed to achieve an international consensus on a structured, platform-agnostic robotic training curriculum for GI surgical trainees.
Methods
A 106-item Delphi questionnaire was developed with an international committee of surgical experts, trainees, methodologists and patient representatives. It was disseminated to a multidisciplinary panel of 83 GI robotic surgeons, trainees, human factors experts, robotic theatre team members and industry providers. Two Delphi survey rounds were conducted, with a priori consensus standard set at 70% or higher for agreement. A consensus meeting was subsequently held to discuss and finalise the items needed for a robotic training curriculum for GI surgical trainees.
Results
Seventy-one (86%) participants from 15 countries completed round 1. A total of 82 items (77%) reached consensus and 32 new items were generated from free-text comments. Seventy of these participants (99%) completed the 56-item round 2 questionnaire, with 36 items (64%) reaching consensus and 5 new items generated. All 143 statements were discussed in the meeting and consensus was reached in the following areas: (i) key knowledge requirements of the bedside assistant and a console surgeon; (ii) training components; (iii) performance assessment and (iv) certification and supervision.
Conclusion
International surgical experts, trainees and other key stakeholders reached consensus on the critical components of a platform-agnostic robotic training curriculum for GI surgical trainees. This will help shape the future of robotic surgical education and certification, promote standardised training practices and ultimately benefit patient safety and outcomes.
The rapid adoption of robotic surgical systems globally has created a critical gap in training, assessment and certification for visceral and gastrointestinal (GI) surgical trainees. This study, led by the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery (EAES), aimed to achieve an international consensus on a structured, platform-agnostic robotic training curriculum for GI surgical trainees.
Methods
A 106-item Delphi questionnaire was developed with an international committee of surgical experts, trainees, methodologists and patient representatives. It was disseminated to a multidisciplinary panel of 83 GI robotic surgeons, trainees, human factors experts, robotic theatre team members and industry providers. Two Delphi survey rounds were conducted, with a priori consensus standard set at 70% or higher for agreement. A consensus meeting was subsequently held to discuss and finalise the items needed for a robotic training curriculum for GI surgical trainees.
Results
Seventy-one (86%) participants from 15 countries completed round 1. A total of 82 items (77%) reached consensus and 32 new items were generated from free-text comments. Seventy of these participants (99%) completed the 56-item round 2 questionnaire, with 36 items (64%) reaching consensus and 5 new items generated. All 143 statements were discussed in the meeting and consensus was reached in the following areas: (i) key knowledge requirements of the bedside assistant and a console surgeon; (ii) training components; (iii) performance assessment and (iv) certification and supervision.
Conclusion
International surgical experts, trainees and other key stakeholders reached consensus on the critical components of a platform-agnostic robotic training curriculum for GI surgical trainees. This will help shape the future of robotic surgical education and certification, promote standardised training practices and ultimately benefit patient safety and outcomes.
Date Issued
2026-06-19
Date Acceptance
2026-03-21
Citation
Surgical Endoscopy, 2026
ISSN
0930-2794
Publisher
Springer
Journal / Book Title
Surgical Endoscopy
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Identifier
10.1007/s00464-026-12781-x
Subjects
Robotic surgery
Visceral surgery
Gastrointestinal surgery
Training
Education
Curriculum
Assessment
Certification
Publication Status
Published online
Date Publish Online
2026-06-19