Adding an inanimate training curriculum to virtual reality significantly boosts surgical residents’ skills in robotic surgery while lowering stress levels.

• VR skill scores improved from 159% to 229% after the curriculum (p < 0.0001).
• MOSATS scores rose from 15.5 to 25.8, with completion times dropping from 773 to 484 seconds (both p < 0.0001).

These findings highlight the importance of incorporating hands-on training to enhance technical competence in robotic surgery.

• Residents reported feeling more relaxed and experienced lower mental demand post-training.