Gender differences in self-assessed performance and stress level during training of basic interventional radiology...

Area of Science:

• Medical training
• Interventional radiology
• Endovascular procedures

Background:

• Gender differences are known to influence medical training.
• Investigating these differences in interventional radiology (IR) is crucial for effective training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate gender differences in catheter handling during simulated interventional radiology maneuvers.
• To analyze objective and subjective parameters of performance and stress levels between male and female participants.

Main Methods:

• 64 participants (26 women, 38 men) naïve to endovascular procedures performed standardized catheter handling tasks.
• Objective data (catheter pathway, movements, time) and subjective data (stress, workload via NASA-TLX) were recorded.

Main Results:

• In complex tasks, women took longer, sought help more frequently and earlier, and perceived higher difficulty and stress.
• Men exhibited more agitated catheter handling.
• Women accurately correlated self-assessment with objective performance, unlike men.
• Stress correlated with objective parameters in men but not women.

Conclusions:

• Significant gender-specific differences exist in performance, self-assessment, and stress perception during simulated IR tasks.
• These differences in psychological aspects and self-perception are essential for successful IR training and may impact outcomes.