Quantifying the effects of training in lung transplantation: Lessons from NASA

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education
• Transplant Surgery
• Medical Simulation

Background:

• Sequential lung transplantation training traditionally relies on operative experience.
• Limited data exists on the impact of training on surgical trainers.
• The NASA-TLX tool assesses perceived workload.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of training junior surgeons in lung transplantation on senior surgical trainers.
• To utilize the NASA-TLX to quantify trainer workload during these procedures.

Main Methods:

• Prospective data collection of NASA-TLX scores from 60 bilateral sequential lung transplantations.
• Comparison between cases performed solely by senior surgeons (n=30) and those where a trainee implanted the second lung under supervision (n=30).

Main Results:

• Senior surgeons reported significantly lower overall workload when not training (p < 0.001).
• Training cases exhibited increased mental and temporal demands (p < 0.001, p < 0.05).
• Perceived performance remained consistent across both training and non-training scenarios.

Conclusions:

• The NASA Task Load Index effectively quantifies the effects of training on lung transplant trainers.
• Training increases cognitive and time pressures on trainers without affecting perceived surgical outcomes.
• Findings support and provide a metric for trainers in the evolving field of transplant surgery.