An Australian perspective of using video for the assessment of laparoscopic surgery and support for artificial intelligence in performance evaluation

The objective evaluation of technical competence in laparoscopic surgery is critical, yet many current assessment tools lack precision and video-based assessment is not routinely integrated into formal training. This survey gauges a national consensus on video-based assessment of cholecystectomy and the perspectives of use of artificial intelligence in the future. This cross-sectional survey study utilized a national survey distributed to the Australian general surgery community via the REDCap platform. The survey assessed proposed criteria for the dissection and excision phases of laparoscopic cholecystectomy and explored surgeons’ perspectives on the future use of video recordings and artificial intelligence in surgical training. With a 20.0% response rate (192/962), the survey revealed a strong consensus among surgeons regarding the proposed assessment criteria, with key items like non-targeted diathermy burning and incorrect clipping achieving high agreement. While video recording for review is not routine, a significant proportion of participants expressed that video-based assessment is “somewhat likely” or “very likely” to become mandatory for competency evaluation. Attitudes toward integrating AI and software tools for video-based assessment were generally positive. This study demonstrates a clear consensus among general surgeons on objective assessment criteria for laparoscopic cholecystectomy and signals a shift towards formal video-based assessment and AI integration in surgical training. These findings are crucial for developing reliable assessment tools and integrating advanced technologies to enhance surgical education and trainee evaluation.