TopSurgeons · Understanding the influence of human and organizational factors on surgeon performance to enhance patient outcomes: experimental evaluation of a customized coaching program

Individual performance of surgeon is a core element of successful surgery that can vary greatly over career for poorly understood reasons. Solutions to optimize physical and mental condition of surgeon during operation have not been thoroughly explored so far, while this may represent basic foundation for delivering high quality surgery. This surgeon-centred outcome research pursues three successive goals: 1-Identifying the key determinants related to surgeon's human factor and operating room organization influencing his/her performance in terms of patient safety and care efficiency; 2-Developing a customized coaching program for surgeons based on the human and organizational factors previously discovered, which includes a charting system for individual parameters and surgical outcomes feedback, profiling of individual surgeon, and standardized modules of improvement; 3-Implementing and measuring the impact of this program on surgical outcomes of a randomized group of surgeons against a control group of non-exposed surgeons. Inspired from previous experiences in the aeronautic and sport arena to improve pilots and athletes performance, our approach will take place in real time at the point of care in close collaboration with front-line personnel. A particular attention will be paid to quantify the influence of several factors that may affect how the surgeon operates every day (physiological stress, sleep quality, physical activities, workload, team composition and unplanned events in operating room). Generated knowledge on these factors will be exploited for identifying deficiencies that, if corrected, could improve surgeon's functional capacity. Solutions to control these factors and achieve optimal outcomes will then be experimentally tested to establish evidence-based standards of surgical practice. Those standards will be adapted to each surgeon's needs and preferences, potentially leading to a certification model for surgeons complying with excellence criteria.