Programs - Education

The N-CASE laboratory offers training programs for a wide variety of skill levels. Nurses, physician assistants, medical students, residents, fellows, and practicing physicians of all disciplines have the opportunity to evaluate, practice and perfect their procedural and surgical skills in the N-CASE facility.

Medical Students (Undergrad Programs)

Third-year Northwestern University Feinberg School medical students utilize the N-CASE facility during their Surgical Clerkship, while they learn such skills as phlebotomy, IV catheterization, suturing, ABI and neurological examinations. Another curriculum is also in place the laboratory for 3rd year Medical Students rotating through the General Surgery services, which allows them to learn sterile technique and basic surgical skills outside of the pressures and constraints of the operating room.

Residents (Graduate Programs)

A skills curriculum for the trainees in the General Surgery Residency includes specific sessions to teach junior residents the most basic surgical skills (suturing, knot tying, etc), sessions on basic laparoscopy for mid-level residents, and sessions on advanced laparoscopic skills for senior residents. The laboratory is currently equipped with a variety of skills training simulators. These simulators are used by trainees to hone their laparoscopic surgical skills in a simulated (virtual) environment. Other simulators are incorporated in variety of curricula to practice technical skills in thoracentesis, central line placement, intubation, and trauma-related procedures.

Post-Graduate Education

The skills laboratory is available for both non-CME and CME accredited courses for practicing physicians. New surgical procedures and practicing the proper use of newly developed equipment are common themes of courses supported by the surgical specialties. Subspecialty surgical programs are also encouraged to utilize the laboratory for their programs. For example, the Division of Vascular Surgery uses an angiography simulator in the laboratory for training of regional surgeons in the technique of endoluminal carotid artery stenting. Other examples of courses in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) procedures held at N-CASE range from nissen fundoplication, sinuplasty, thyroidectomy and myomectomy to joint replacement using computer assisted navigation, and minimally invasive face-lift techniques. Although the N-CASE program focuses on minimally invasive surgical training, the facility has also become a major resource for education in many areas of surgery beyond MIS.

Increased recognition as a preeminent surgical training facility has helped forge relationships with premiere surgical societies. For example, N-CASE has recently become an official Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) regional test center. FLS testing is a widely-accepted method of assessing trainees’ fundamental laparoscopic knowledge and skills. N-CASE has also moved toward collaboration with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and is in the process of applying for Level 1 Comprehensive Education Institute accreditation with ACS. The relationships will further aid our development of training programs that focus on competencies and specifically address the teaching, learning, and assessment of technical skills during all phases of surgical learning.