Mental Practice, Visualization, and Mental Imagery in Surgery: a Systematic Review

Physicians face constant pressures to learn and adapt to new knowledge, techniques, and technology. Mental practice-the process of rehearsing a task without the physical action of performing it-is a cognitive tool that is used by many professions to hone abilities and prepare for difficult undertakings. Mental practice can help optimize physician performance but there is minimal research on its application in practice. In this systematic review we assessed the usefulness of mental practice for surgeons to aid in skill acquisition. Using PRISMA guidelines, 12 studies were selected for evaluation. The results of these studies show clear advantages to using mental practice to improve overall surgical performance. Here, we discuss mental practice, the evidence for its use, and how it can be learned and performed.