Early Career Surgeons, Intra-operative Consultation, Mental Wellbeing, Mentorship, Patients Outcomes, Surgical Coaching
Conditions
Brief summary
This multicenter observational prospective study aims to explore the impact of peri-operative support measures (mentorship or coaching or intraoperative consultation) on the mental well-being of early career surgeons. Furthermore sub-analyses will be conducted to explore the impact that surgeons mental wellbeing related to different support measures could have on patients' outcomes
Detailed description
The MICROSCOPE study is a prospective, international, observational project evaluating the impact of structured perioperative support-mentorship, intraoperative consultation (IOC), and surgical coaching-on the well-being of early-career surgeons and their patients' outcomes. Early-career surgeons (within 10 years post-training) face high stress, with limited structured support. This study investigates whether professional guidance improves surgeon resilience, reduces burnout, and enhances performance. The project includes two components: Surgeon-level study: Participants are observed over 12 months and grouped by support type received. Mental health outcomes are assessed using validated tools (Maslach Burnout Inventory, CD-RISC-10, QoL scale), alongside self- and assistant-rated performance metrics. Patient-level study: Adult patients operated on by enrolled surgeons during the first 3 months are followed for 90 days. Outcomes include postoperative complications (CCI®, Clavien-Dindo), intraoperative events (Satava), reoperation, readmission, and mortality. Data are collected via REDCap and analyzed using adjusted mixed-effects models to account for clustering and confounders. The study is investigator-initiated, with no external funding, and adheres to ethical standards including local IRB approval and informed consent. MICROSCOPE aims to generate real-world evidence on how structured support can improve both surgical care quality and surgeon well-being.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALPeri-operative support measures [mentorship, intraoperative consult, surgical coaching, standard practice (no structured support)]
Mentorship: Formal (assigned by an institution or via an official program) or informal (personal relationship built during the career pathway) professional guidance relationships that support early-career surgeons in clinical decision-making, technical development, and emotional processing. Surgical Coaching: Structured, feedback-oriented discussions or sessions aimed at performance enhancement and reflective practice Intraoperative Consultation (IOC): Real-time assistance or second opinions provided by a more experienced surgeon or peers during a surgical procedure Standard practice: the surgeon performs the procedure supported by one or multiple assistants, as per internal hospital protocols and national/local regulations, receiving and providing natural feedback without a structured support system.
Sponsors
Niguarda Hospital
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Adult patients (≥18 years) treated for abdominal general surgical conditions in the emergency or elective setting or for thoraco-abdominal traumatic diseases. The list of surgical procedures is reported in the Supplementary Material 1 * Surgeries performed in elective, trauma, or emergency general surgery care
Exclusion criteria
* Patients operated by surgeons who completed general surgery residency more than 10 years before the study start date * Pediatric patients \< 18 years of age * Patients or surgeons not willing to give their consent to participate
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Burnout: Emotional Exhaustion | Baseline, Perioperative, 3 months, 6 months | Maximun score 48. High scores relate to higher Emotional Exhaustion, contributing to higher burnout |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Burnout: Depersonalization | Baseline, Perioperative, 3 months, 6 months | Depersonalizzation (DP) considering the treshold of 10 points from the Maslach Burnout Inventory |
| Psychological resilience | Baseline, Perioperative, 3 months, and 6 months | Maximum score 40. High scores relate to higher resilience, contributing to potentially higher well-being |
| Perceived Surgical Performance | Perioperative | Sefl evaluation by the surgeon using a 5-point Likert scale (1) a procedure that did not go well at all, (2) a procedure that could have gone better, (3) a regular procedure, (4) a successful procedure, (5) a highly successful procedure |
| Perceived Surgical Performance by the assistant | Perioperative | Evaluation by the assistant using a 5-point Likert scale (1) a procedure that did not go well at all, (2) a procedure that could have gone better, (3) a regular procedure, (4) a successful procedure, (5) a highly successful procedure |
Countries
Italy
Contacts
CONTACTStefano Piero Bernardo Cioffi, MD
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORStefano Piero Bernardo Cioffi, MD
Niguarda Hospital
Outcome results
None listed