Mental Practice Enhances Surgical Technical Skills: A Randomized Controlled Study : Annals of Surgery

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Original Study

Mental Practice Enhances Surgical Technical Skills

A Randomized Controlled Study

Arora, Sonal PhD*; Aggarwal, Rajesh PhD*; Sirimanna, Pramudith BSc*; Moran, Aidan PhD†; Grantcharov, Teodor PhD‡; Kneebone, Roger PhD*; Sevdalis, Nick PhD*; Darzi, Ara MD*

Author Information

* Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London;

† University College Dublin, Ireland;

‡ Division of General Surgery, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.

Reprints: Sonal Arora, MBBS, Department of Surgery and Cancer, 10th Floor, QEQM Building, St. Mary's Hospital, Praed St, London, W2 1NY, UK. E-mail: [email protected].

Supported by The BUPA Foundation.

Annals of Surgery 253(2):p 265-270, February 2011. | DOI: 10.1097/SLA.0b013e318207a789

In Brief

This randomized controlled study evaluates the effects of mental practice on the performance of laparoscopic novices in a virtual reality environment. Results show that a short period of mental practice improves the quality of technical performance. Further studies should replicate this finding for other procedures and for more experienced surgeons to corroborate that mental practice is an effective training strategy to improve patient care.

Copyright © 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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