Surgeons' and trainees' perceived self-efficacy in operating theatre non-technical skills

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Psychology in Medicine

Background:

• Self-efficacy, a judgment of capability, influences performance.
• This study investigated self-efficacy in non-technical skills among surgical trainees and its relation to performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare self-efficacy in non-technical skills with actual performance in simulated surgical scenarios.
• To assess changes in self-efficacy and performance after a non-technical skills workshop.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study with 40 surgical trainees in two simulation sessions.
• Non-technical skills were assessed in simulated scenarios.
• Self-efficacy in non-technical skills was measured via pre- and post-training surveys.

Main Results:

• No significant change in self-efficacy was observed post-training.
• Participants with high self-efficacy tended to lower their scores, while those with low self-efficacy raised theirs.
• Non-technical skills performance significantly improved, but no correlation with self-efficacy was found.

Conclusions:

• Surgical trainees exhibit poor insight into their non-technical skills.
• While performance improved, direct correlation with self-efficacy was not established.
• The intervention fostered a more critical self-appraisal of abilities.