Surgical Coaching for Performance Optimization: Perceptual-Cognitive Expertise Displayed During Surgical Peer...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Cognition
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Surgeons require advanced perceptual-cognitive skills for complex operations.
• Opportunities for developing these skills post-training are limited.
• Surgical peer coaching shows potential for cognitive skill enhancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the impact of video-based peer coaching on surgeons' perceptual-cognitive skills.
• To identify how cognitive skills are practiced and refined in a peer coaching setting.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal, video-based group peer coaching program with 13 practicing surgeons.
• Nine recorded sessions over four years, including operative video review and facilitated discussion.
• Interaction analysis of session transcripts to examine skill development.

Main Results:

• Key skills practiced: pattern recognition, situational probability assessment, and cue identification.
• Surgeons verbalized reasoning, compared mental models, and reflected on uncertainty.
• Collaborative discussion and video review made cognitive processes explicit and teachable.

Conclusions:

• Video-based peer coaching is a feasible model for deliberate practice in experienced surgeons.
• Reflective discussion and shared reasoning enhance perceptual-cognitive expertise.
• Integrates cognitive coaching into surgical education and quality improvement.