AB114. SOH26AB_0448b. Near-peer teaching of laparoscopic skills among medical students: a randomised feasibility study
General Session II

AB114. SOH26AB_0448b. Near-peer teaching of laparoscopic skills among medical students: a randomised feasibility study

Martin Ho1, Lena Dablouk1, Yasmina Richa1, Joshua Nolan1, Andrew O’Brien1, Samin Abrar1, Leonie Heskin2, Derek Hennessey3

1Department of Surgery, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland; 2ASSERT Research Centre, Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; 3Department of Urology, Mercy University Hospital, Cork, Ireland

Background: Laparoscopic surgery is integral to modern surgical practice. However, many medical students graduate with limited exposure to essential skills. Near-peer teaching is a promising, student-led approach to address this gap, though its objective impact remains under-evaluated. The aims of this study were to develop a novel objective assessment tool, assess changes in students’ confidence and objective performance in laparoscopic tasks following near-peer versus self-directed training, and explore factors associated with performance.

Methods: This single-blinded, randomised feasibility study enrolled 42 medical students without prior laparoscopic experience. Participants were assigned via computer randomisation to near-peer (group 1) or self-taught group (group 2) and completed six weekly sessions across four laparoscopic stations: ball transfer, circle cutting, peg transfer, and string. Performance was scored using a novel objective assessment tool developed through a modified Delphi method. Two blinded surgical trainees assessed all performances.

Results: No significant differences were observed in pre-intervention objective performance between groups, except for the “peg transfer” station. Post-intervention, both groups improved significantly across all tasks (P<0.001). Their confidence also improved (P<0.001). The peer-taught group outperformed the self-directed group in “circle cutting” (P=0.02) and “string” (P=0.01). There was no relationship between age, gender, or video game experience and performance.

Conclusions: Near-peer teaching significantly improved laparoscopic performance among medical students compared with self-directed learning. These findings support the inclusion of structured near-peer programmes in undergraduate curricula. A multi-centre randomised controlled trial, powered using effect sizes generated from this study, is warranted to confirm efficacy and validate the novel assessment tool.

Keywords: Laparoscopy; medical education; medical student; surgical; teaching

Acknowledgments

None.

Footnote

Funding: None.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-26-ab114
Cite this abstract as: Ho M, Dablouk L, Richa Y, Nolan J, O’Brien A, Abrar S, Heskin L, Hennessey D. AB114. SOH26AB_0448b. Near-peer teaching of laparoscopic skills among medical students: a randomised feasibility study. Mesentery Peritoneum 2026;10:AB114.

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