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Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -)
Published in: Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) 1/2011

01-03-2011 | Original Article

Coping with stress in surgery: the difficulty of measuring non-technical skills

Authors: E. Boyle, A. M. Kennedy, E. Doherty, D. O’Keeffe, O. Traynor

Published in: Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) | Issue 1/2011

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Abstract

Background

Non-technical skills are relevant to surgical performance but are difficult to quantify. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy, which is a measure of stress-coping ability, and surgical performance.

Methods

Two hundred and sixteen basic surgical trainees were assessed on their performance of three bench model-type open and laparoscopic surgical tasks. They also completed a 10-item General Self-Efficacy (GSE) questionnaire to assess their stress-coping abilities. Their assessment scores were correlated with the GSE scores.

Results

The mean GSE score of 31.39 was higher than the recorded population norms. There was no significant correlation between GSE and surgical performance for open or laparoscopic tasks.

Conclusion

Junior surgical trainees have high self-belief scores, but these abilities are difficult to measure and quantify. More refined methods may be necessary to measure non-technical skills relevant to surgery.
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Metadata
Title
Coping with stress in surgery: the difficulty of measuring non-technical skills
Authors
E. Boyle
A. M. Kennedy
E. Doherty
D. O’Keeffe
O. Traynor
Publication date
01-03-2011
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -) / Issue 1/2011
Print ISSN: 0021-1265
Electronic ISSN: 1863-4362
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-010-0578-z

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