The Psychometric Assessment and Skills training by Simulation in Neurosurgery (PASSION) Study was designed to verify if intensive training with neurosurgical simulators improves the residents’ operative procedures skills. The aim of this randomized, prospective, and international study was to assess a new training method to be implemented in standard Neurosurgery training programs to provide a faster route to competency, without exposing patients to further risks. We focused on psychometric assessment to understand if some psychological traits were related to individual differences in surgical performance and learning pace.
The results obtained indicate that the group trained with simulators achieved superior performance compared to the control group. This suggests that simulators are an effective tool for accelerating neurosurgeon training.