The effectiveness of an operating room etiquette video on medical student comfort in the gynecologic operating room

Abstract

Background: Medical students spend a large portion of their obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN) rotation in the operating room (OR). We identified a deficit in appropriate OR orientation and created a 10-min video reviewing OR etiquette and fundamental skills. Our primary aim was to investigate the effect of this video on medical students' comfort and self-assessed performance in the gynecologic OR. Our secondary aim was to examine if OR personnel rated students' performance higher 8 months after video introduction. Materials and Methods: A prospective, cohort study of 71 3rd- and 4th-year medical students participating in the core OB/GYN clerkship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). All medical student participants watched the video once during their clerkship orientation and had continuous online access. Participants completed a pre- and posttest survey assessing their comfort with various OR tasks. After each OR day, participants completed a brief self-assessment of their OR performance. OR staff were surveyed on medical student performance before and after video implementation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the signed-rank test, and Fisher's exact test via SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC, USA). Results: Most students reported improvement on the daily self-assessment. Students without prior surgical experience demonstrated greater improvement in comfort with most OR tasks. OR staff perception of medical students changed favorably after video implementation in several domains. Conclusions: A brief video detailing OR etiquette and fundamental skills is an easily implemented resource to clarify OR tasks that often produce unnecessary anxiety for students. Improved OR staff perception of medical student performance may help streamline OR functioning.