ROPE PASS DRILL

The rope pass drill establishes ambidexterity, depth perception, fine control of the instruments, and rhythmic, coordinated movement. A 60  1/8” rope with one inch long colored bands and 4” apart is placed in a tabletop trainer in a stacked coiled configuration. The rope is manipulated from end to end by being grasped with an endograsper utilizing a “shuffle” technique (Fig. 1). The rope is passed from one instrument to the next while maintaining economy of motion. Each event is timed from the first grasp with the non-dominant hand until the end of the rope is reached. No errors are recorded with this task. Quality and accuracy is aggressively maintained by the instructor’s constant oversight.

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Bean DROP DRILL

The bean drop drill requires the non–dominant hand grasper to transfer a smooth, round object into a cylinder with an aperture at the top. The object must be grasped with the non–dominant hand instrument and dropped into the container from a minimal height (Fig. 2). There must be excellent instrument control and economy of motion. The drill establishes non-dominant dexterity, depth perception in a two-dimensional field, hand–eye coordination, and fine control of the instrument. The participant must place ten peas through the aperture. An electronic proctor records the time and errors associated with completing this exercise. Whenever inaccurate movements are executed, a light goes on, a buzzer sounds, and an error is counted.

 

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THE TRIANGLE TRANSFER DRILL

The triangle transfer drill calls for the placing of a curved needle mounted in a flat configuration through a metallic loop at the apex of a metallic triangle utilizing a non–dominant hand instrument. The triangle is placed so that only the leading edge of the loop is seen. Its location must be anticipated by utilizing depth perception compensation. With the needle in place, the triangle is transferred to a designated placement area (Fig. 3). To successfully execute this exercise a series of movements that closely correlate with those necessary to establish initial tissue penetration and recovery of the needle during the suturing process are required. The drill also establishes ambidexterity, depth perception, fine control of instruments, and coordinated, rhythmic motion. Five triangles are transferred in this timed event. Errors are accounted for by an electronic proctor. Therefore, whenever inaccurate movements are performed a light flashes, a buzzer sounds, and the number of errors is counted.

 

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