Psychophysical workload in the operating room: primary surgeon versus assistant

Area of Science:

• Surgical Operations
• Occupational Health
• Human Factors Engineering

Background:

• Operating room work is demanding for surgical teams.
• Surgeons report higher stress as primary surgeons compared to assistants.
• This study assesses intra-individual workload in both roles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate intraoperative psychophysiologic workload in surgeons.
• To compare workload between primary surgeon and assistant roles.
• To investigate the influence of surgery length on workload.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a mobile health system for 24-hour monitoring of 25 surgeons.
• Measured physiological parameters (heart rate, breathing rate, skin temperature) via chest belt sensors.
• Assessed subjective workload using the NASA-TLX (Task Load Index) via smartphone pre- and postoperatively.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in workload was found between primary surgeon and assistant roles.
• Surgery length, not intraoperative function, significantly impacted physical demands, temporal demands, effort, and overall NASA-TLX scores.
• Physiological workload indicators and NASA-TLX ratings were not related to the intraoperative function.

Conclusions:

• Intra-individual workload differences are not linked to surgeon role when surgery length is a factor.
• Intelligent operating room management, including breaks, can optimize workload and protect surgeon health.
• Mobile health systems are valuable for continuous psychophysiologic workload assessment.