Clinical Performance and Multitasking in Anesthesia : a Simulation-based Study

Overview

Cognitive failure under multitasking conditions has been demonstrated in various settings, including healthcare. However, in anesthesiology, the impact of multitasking on clinical performance has not yet been fully characterized. The objective of our study is to evaluate the impact of multitasking on anesthesiologists' clinical performance in a simulated setting.

This study is a prospective, single-center, non-interventional study. The study was classified as non-interventional by the institutional research committee, as the intervention consists of simulation training and the study population comprises healthcare practitioners. The study participants are anesthesiologists, including attending physicians and residents. Each participant will serve as their own control. The study will comprise two visits: one intervention visit consisting of a multitasking simulation session, and one control visit involving clinical questions administered under quiet conditions. The order of the visits will be randomized between participants using a crossover design in order to minimize potential learning bias. The multitasking condition will consist of performing manual mask ventilation on a manikin while answering oral clinical questions administered in the form of Script Concordance Tests (SCTs). Participants will be instructed to ventilate the manikin with a tidal volume of 500 mL and a respiratory rate of 15 breaths/minute. Clinical reasoning under quiet conditions will consist of answering oral clinical questions in the SCT format. The study will use a 44-item Script Concordance Test (SCT) distributed across 20 anesthesiology clinical vignettes. The vignettes are distributed as follows: 8 vignettes with 3 items, 8 vignettes with 2 items, and 4 vignettes with 1 item. The vignettes were adapted, without modification of their content, to be compatible with oral administration and the simulation scenario. In addition, for each participant, the SCT clinical vignettes will be randomized between the "simulation vignettes" and the "control vignettes," with stratification according to the number of items per vignette. Five vignettes will be allocated to the intervention condition and fifteen to the control condition. This approach will help limit the effect of differences in vignette difficulty that could otherwise bias the results. At the group level, all clinical vignettes will ultimately be assessed in both the simulation and control conditions. Detailed information is available in the study protocol.