Implementing Mental Practice in Postgraduate Surgical Training for Minimally Invasive Surgery: A Systematic Review...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• National Health Service (NHS) faces surgical training obstacles.
• Simulation training is limited by cost and accessibility.
• Mental practice (MP) offers a supplementary learning method for surgeons.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify themes for successful implementation of mental practice (MP) in postgraduate surgical training.
• Analyze existing literature on MP's effectiveness in surgical education.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO.
• Thematic analysis of 11 included studies.
• Assessment of bias in retrieved studies.

Main Results:

• 11 studies met inclusion criteria from 321 retrieved.
• Risk of bias varied from critical to good.
• Key themes for MP implementation were identified.

Conclusions:

• High-quality mental imagery is crucial for effective mental practice.
• Relaxation and motivational imagery can augment MP effectiveness.
• Future research should explore real-world application and procedural simplification.