Impact of an optimised teaching curriculum on motor performance and skill retention of medical students in simulated laparoscopic cholecystectomy: Trial Protocol for a single-blinded, randomised, controlled trial (Optiperss-Trial)

Impact of an optimised teaching curriculum on motor performance and skill retention of medical students in simulated laparoscopic cholecystectomy: Trial Protocol for a single-blinded, randomised, controlled trial (Optiperss-Trial) - Optiperss

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00036507

Enrollment

Registered

2026-06-29

Start date

2025-03-03

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-08-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Effect of optimized training on motor performance and retention of laparoscopy skills in untrained medical students

Interventions

Group 1: Study group. The study group will follow an optimised training protocol based on the literature on motor learning and performance. This includes more frequent but shorter training sessions an

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Medical students over the age of 18 enrolled at Heidelberg University during their clinical years (3rd to 6th year of medical school in Germany) who are physically able to participate in the MIS-training program

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Participation in laparoscopy training courses or laparoscopic surgeries or assisting in laparoscopic surgeries for more than 2 hours in advance of MIS-training

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The study’s main objective is to assess whether the optimised training programme leads to a better transfer of skills when performing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy than the control groups training, reflecting improved motor learning. To determine this, the students will perform a laparoscopic cholecystectomy as part of the post-test, 28 ± 5 days after their tissue handling training. The surgery will be assessed using the standardised and validated Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic skills (GOALS) and the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) scores.	—

Measure

Time frame

The study’s main objective is to assess whether the optimised training programme leads to a better transfer of skills when performing a laparoscopic cholecystectomy than the control groups training, reflecting improved motor learning. To determine this, the students will perform a laparoscopic cholecystectomy as part of the post-test, 28 ± 5 days after their tissue handling training. The surgery will be assessed using the standardised and validated Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic skills (GOALS) and the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) scores.

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
The laparoscopic cholecystectomy will be evaluated in terms of time required to complete the task and the case difficulty. The difficulty of the porcine liver will be assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) from one (extremely easy) to ten (extremely hard), depending on the anatomical conditions. Complications will be assessed at the end of the training by reviewing the organ, gall bladder bed, surrounding liver parenchyma, vessels and duct using a three-point Likert scale. Whether the laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been completed successfully will be documented. Additionally, the trainees will be tested on exercises they have previously practised as well as on transfer tasks. Task errors /scores and completion time, as well as students’ perceived self-efficacy using the “Allgemeine Selbstwirksamkeit Kurzskala” (ASKU), will be assessed.	—

Measure

Time frame

The laparoscopic cholecystectomy will be evaluated in terms of time required to complete the task and the case difficulty. The difficulty of the porcine liver will be assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) from one (extremely easy) to ten (extremely hard), depending on the anatomical conditions. Complications will be assessed at the end of the training by reviewing the organ, gall bladder bed, surrounding liver parenchyma, vessels and duct using a three-point Likert scale. Whether the laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been completed successfully will be documented. Additionally, the trainees will be tested on exercises they have previously practised as well as on transfer tasks. Task errors /scores and completion time, as well as students’ perceived self-efficacy using the “Allgemeine Selbstwirksamkeit Kurzskala” (ASKU), will be assessed.

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Countries

Germany

Contacts

Public ContactFrank Pianka

Klinik für Allgemein-, Viszeral- und Transplantationschirurgie

frank.pianka@med.uni-heidelberg.de+4962215635705

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Aug 10, 2026