PS3-01: OPTIMIZING LEARNER ENGAGEMENT DURING MENTAL SKILLS TRAINING: SMALL GROUP VS. INDIVIDUALIZED TRAINING
Nicholas E Anton, MS¹, Eric A Bean, PhD², Erinn M Myers, MD³, Dimitrios Stefanidis, MD, PhD¹; ¹Indiana University School of Medicine, ²Get Your Head in the Game, ³Atrium Health

Background: Mental skills have been shown to effectively limit surgical residents’ laparoscopic skill decay resulting from intraoperative stress. The optimal implementation strategy of mental skills training (i.e., individually or in small groups) is unknown, however. The goal of the present study was to compare the impact of delivering mental skills training in individual versus small group sessions on learner engagement.

Methods: Surgery residents participated in our mental skills curriculum (MSC) at two institutions. The curriculum, facilitated by a coach, offered mental skills training (Table 1).  At one institution, participating residents trained in small groups  (i.e., 2 or 3 residents per session), whereas residents at the other institution had individual training. Following mental skills sessions, all residents practiced laparoscopic skills. At the beginning of these sessions, residents completed the Short Stress State Questionnaire (SSSQ) detailing their engagement, distress, and worry. Unpaired t-tests were performed to determine engagement differences between groups.

Results: Twenty-one residents completed the MSC. Residents trained individually reported higher engagement scores compared with those who trained in small groups; differences reached statistical significance for the science of attention and mental imagery sessions (Table 1).

Conclusions: Delivering mental skills training individually leads to greater resident engagement compared with small groups. Given that mental skills training requires tailoring skills to each resident, individual training sessions may allow for more effective practice of these skills. These findings help inform the optimal delivery method for mental skills training in surgery.