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Improving Teamwork: Evaluating Workload of Surgical Team During Robot-assisted Surgery
Lora A Cavuoto1, Ahmed A Hussein2, Vivek Vasan3
1Department of Urology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.
Urology
|June 6, 2017
Summary
Surgical team roles significantly impact workload during robot-assisted urologic surgery. Trainees performed 40% of procedures without increased perceived workload, suggesting potential for optimized task distribution.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Surgical Technology
- Human Factors Engineering
Background:
- Robot-assisted surgery (RAS) is increasingly common in urology.
- Understanding team workload is crucial for surgical efficiency and patient safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate cognitive and physical workload across different operating room team members during various urologic procedures.
- To identify factors contributing to workload variations in RAS.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) questionnaire.
- Collected 338 questionnaires from 55 individuals across multiple urologic RAS procedures.
- Analyzed workload differences by role, procedure type, and duration using ANOVA and correlation.
Main Results:
- Surgical team role significantly affected all workload scales.
- Prostatectomy led to higher frustration for trainee surgeons compared to cystectomy.
- Trainees performed ~40% of procedures without significant impact on their perceived workload, irrespective of complexity.
Conclusions:
- Team roles are key determinants of workload in urologic RAS.
- Workload optimization strategies can be developed based on these findings.
- Further analysis can enhance team performance and patient outcomes in RAS.
