Abstract: Objective To investigate the performance of laparoscopic camera navigation training for medical students using the virtual reality simulator. Methods Ten medical clerks (group A), 10 medical interns (group B) and 10 first year surgical residents (group C) are randomly enrolled in this study, and 10 surgical attendings (group D) are enrolled as control group. The performance of pre-training and post-training is analyzed. Results The performance of pre-training and post-training in the same group was significant improved (P <0.05) and there was significant difference among group A, B and C, but there was significant difference between the training group and the surgical attendings (control group) (P <0.05), respectively. Conclusions The laparoscopic camera navigation skills could be improved by laparoscopic virtual reality simulator especially for the medical interns and surgical residents.

Key words: laparoscopy, camera navigation, virtual reality simulation, surgical teaching