About SOSATS
The Sleeve Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills is presented as a structured, objective resource for evaluating technical performance in laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.
WHY THIS WORK MATTERS
The world’s most performed bariatric procedure needs structured training and assessment.
The Research Programme
A doctoral research programme translated into a practical assessment resource.
International curriculum development
Consensus-driven work to define the skills, criteria, and educational priorities for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy training.
Surgical simulation
Simulation provides a controlled environment for developing operative technique and observing technical progression before clinical performance.
Curriculum validation
Validation studies support the relevance, clarity, and educational utility of the curriculum and assessment approach.
SOSATS performance assessment
A structured rating scale for objective assessment of technical performance during laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.
From thesis to SOSATS
A reproducible pathway for teaching and reviewing a rapidly adopted procedure.
Ruth Blackham’s PhD responds to a central problem in sleeve gastrectomy education: widespread procedural uptake without a uniform curriculum or benchmarked method for reviewing technical performance. The work replaces informal observation and case-volume surrogates with a structured sequence of curriculum development, simulation, validation, and formative video review.
01 · Curriculum
International expert consensus
A modified-Delphi process defined cognitive, technical, peri-operative, and non-technical content while allowing regional adaptation.
02 · Simulation
Reproducible deliberate practice
A low-cost, non-animal silicone stomach model enabled repeatable sleeve practice and assessment in a standard laparoscopic box trainer.
03 · Assessment
Procedure-specific formative review
The SOSATS scale translated critical procedural steps into a reproducible video-rating rubric suitable for formative feedback.
AUTHORSHIP
Clinical Associate Professor Ruth Blackham
Founder and developer of SOSATS
MBBS · MS · MLegM · PhD · DCH · DRANZCOG · VGDWH · FRACS · FACLM · GAICD
A/Professor Blackham is a Consultant Bariatric & General Surgeon, Academic and Director of Aurora Bariatrics. She is the only Surgeon to have won both the AMA WA Junior Doctor of the Year and the John Corboy Medal (highest award for a Surgical Trainee) from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
A/Professor Blackham undertook specialist training in bariatric surgery in Perth and Melbourne and was bestowed the IFSO Asia Pacific Medtronic scholarship in London as well as the ANZGOSA-Upper GI Younger Fellow scholarship.
After completing 20 years of medical and surgical training she was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship, granting further access to international surgical immersions in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Singapore, London and Vienna.
A/Professor Blackham is an academic surgeon, having completed two Masters in both Surgery and Legal Medicine, as well as a PhD researching quality and excellence within the discipline of bariatric surgery via The University of Western Australia. She was an Academic within the Discipline of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, for six years, requiring teaching of trainee doctors and medical students, post-graduate surgical registrars and fellows.
She is an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of SOARD (Society for Obesity And Related Diseases) and a Journal Reviewer for the Australian/New Zealand Journal of Surgery.
She has continued a lifetime of advocacy for junior doctors within the Australian Medical Association and the Postgraduate Medical Council of Western Australia. She is a Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Council-appointed member for both the Prevocational Skills & Education Committee as well as the Skills & Oversight Committee.
She is dedicated to ensuring surgical safety and quality practice, as well as a kind and caring demeanour. She has a passion for the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and is an advocate for engaging in patients’ wellbeing and future health goals.
A/Professor Blackham ensures compassion and pursuit of excellence in caring for all her patients.
SOSATS was developed by Clinical Associate Professor Ruth Blackham through her doctoral research at The University of Western Australia.
INTERNATIONAL CURRICULUM STUDY
International research collaborators
The experts below were co-authors or contributors to the international curriculum study. This acknowledgement does not represent an endorsement of this website or its current implementation.
Professor Kelvin Higa
Clinical Professor of Surgery at UCSF Fresno; a pioneer in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery and a former president of ASMBS and IFSO.
Dr Michel Gagner
Bariatric and minimally invasive surgeon known for pioneering contributions to laparoscopic bariatric surgery, including early development of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.
Dr Raul J. Rosenthal
Regional Chair of the Digestive Disease & Surgical Institute and Chair of Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery and General Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Florida; past president of SAGES and ASMBS.
Professor Jeffrey Hamdorf and Professor Teodor Grantcharov are also credited as co-authors of the international curriculum work.