• Yee Leung, Stuart Salfinger, Jason Jit-Sun Tan, and Amanda Frazer.
• School of Women's and Infants' Health, The University of Western Australia, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia.
• Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2013 Oct 1; 53 (5): 477-83.

IntroductionAt a metropolitan tertiary obstetrics and gynaecology hospital some gynaecologists identified a need for surgical coaching. Full-time specialists in a teaching hospital are expected to teach surgery whilst having limited access to improving their own surgical skills. Over time, this resulted in some degree of technical deskilling. This in turn led to a loss of confidence in their technical ability to perform complex procedures. The trainee was potentially taught surgery by gynaecologists who were not confident in some aspects of their own surgical skill.MethodsA pilot program was introduced to validate a structured surgical encounter template to facilitate surgical coaching in a dedicated regular operating list.ResultsThere was a high degree of satisfaction amongst participants in the program. Learning objectives were predominantly related to acquisition of psychomotor skills, but cognitive and affective skills were also identified. Participants felt they gained confidence and improved their surgical skill as a result of the program. The descriptive feedback validated the structured encounter template in facilitating the learning and teaching environment in the operating room. Most participants expressed an intention to adopt a more structured approach in their surgical teaching.DiscussionA structured surgical coaching template used in a surgical coaching program facilitated short-term self-perceived improvement in surgical skill and confidence. Participants also expressed an intention to introduce a more structured approach in their teaching. The structured programme using the encounter template may have a potential role in remediating a surgeon identified as an outlier by a credentialing body.© 2013 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

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