Meditation Using a Mobile App Improves Surgery Trainee Performance: A Simulation-Based Randomized Controlled Trial.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether a 10-minute app-based mindfulness meditation could enhance instant arthroscopy performance and reduce short-term skills deterioration in orthopaedic residents.
Results Summary
Group A (10-minute meditation before posttest) showed better instant performance than Group B (10-day meditation only), while Group B had less skills deterioration than Group C (no meditation). Both meditation interventions improved arthroscopy metrics significantly.
Population
Orthopaedic residents with no prior arthroscopy or meditation experience.
Effective Dosage
10 minutes/day for 10 consecutive days (Group B), plus an additional 10-minute session before posttest (Group A).
Duration
10 days (plus one additional session for Group A).
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10-minute instant meditation practice using a mobile app | increase | instant arthroscopy performance | orthopaedic residents with no previous experience in arthroscopy and meditation | greater total score (mean difference [MD] 3.57) | enhanced | #1 |
10-minute instant meditation practice using a mobile app | decrease | completion time | orthopaedic residents with no previous experience in arthroscopy and meditation | MD -42.89 seconds | less | #2 |
10-minute instant meditation practice using a mobile app | decrease | camera path length | orthopaedic residents with no previous experience in arthroscopy and meditation | MD -23.38 cm | shorter | #3 |
10-minute instant meditation practice using a mobile app | decrease | grasper path length | orthopaedic residents with no previous experience in arthroscopy and meditation | MD -15.23 cm | shorter | #4 |
10-minute instant meditation practice using a mobile app | decrease | cartilage injury | orthopaedic residents with no previous experience in arthroscopy and meditation | MD -1.07% | less | #5 |
10-day app-based meditation | decrease | short-term arthroscopic skills deterioration | orthopaedic residents with no previous experience in arthroscopy and meditation | better total score (MD -5.42) | reduced | #6 |
10-day app-based meditation | decrease | completion time | orthopaedic residents with no previous experience in arthroscopy and meditation | MD 51.96s | less | #7 |
10-day app-based meditation | decrease | camera path length | orthopaedic residents with no previous experience in arthroscopy and meditation | MD 28.41 cm | less | #8 |
10-day app-based meditation | decrease | cartilage injury | orthopaedic residents with no previous experience in arthroscopy and meditation | MD 1.19% | less | #9 |
PURPOSE: To primarily investigate: (1) whether a 10-minute instant meditation practice using a mobile app could enhance arthroscopy performance and (2) whether a 10-day app-based meditation could reduce short-term arthroscopic skills deterioration. METHODS: Orthopaedic residents with no previous experience in arthroscopy and meditation were randomly assigned to groups A, B, and C. After initial standard competency-based arthroscopy training on the simulator on day 1, a pretest was performed via the simulator by all participants to assess their initial level of performance, then groups A and B were required to practice app-based mindfulness meditation 10 min/day for 10 consecutive days while group C did nothing. On day 11, all participants returned to perform a posttest. Before the posttest, the participants in group A practiced app-based meditation (10 minutes), whereas groups B and C had no intervention. RESULTS: In total, 43 participants were included and reached similar level of performance after initial training phase in day 1. On day 11, participants in group A had statistically a better instant arthroscopy performance than group B, with greater total score (mean difference [MD] 3.57; P < .001), less completion time (MD -42.89 seconds; P = .001), shorter camera (MD -23.38 cm; P < .001) and grasper (MD -15.23 cm; P = .002) path length, and less cartilage injury (MD -1.07%; P = .012). Participants in group B had less skills deterioration than group C, with better total score (MD -5.42; P < .001), less completion time (MD 51.96s; P = .002), camera path length (MD 28.41 cm; P = .007), and cartilage injury (MD 1.19%; P = .038). CONCLUSIONS: Meditation training using a mobile app enhanced instant simulation-based arthroscopy performance and reduced short-term skills deterioration of orthopaedic residents with no arthroscopy hands-on experience. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: A meditation using mobile app for clinicians and educators should be incorporated into simulation-based arthroscopy curriculums and perhaps clinical settings to improve arthroscopy performance and mental health of orthopaedic residents without any previous arthroscopy experience.