03/17/2026
Who really makes robotic surgery safe, the console surgeon or the entire team?
Our study published in BJU International highlights a critical but often overlooked role in robotic surgery: the patient-side assistant.
While most robotic training programs focus on the console surgeon, this work from the European Association of Urology robotic and young academic groups validates structured performance metrics to objectively evaluate bedside assistant skills during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy.
• Why it matters
Robotic surgery is a team-based procedure.
The bedside assistant is essential for exposure, instrument exchange, troubleshooting, and maintaining surgical flow.
Going deeper
The study proposes proficiency-based training metrics and identifies critical errors, moving robotic education toward objective competency-based assessment.
® The big picture
As robotics expands, and especially with teleproctoring and telesurgery, the quality of the local surgical team becomes even more important.
Robotic surgery is not only about mastering the console.
