Visuospatial ability as a predictor of novice performance in ultrasound–guided regional anesthesia

Atif, Shafqat; Ferguson, Eamonn; Thanawala, Vishal; Bedforth, Nigel M.; Hardman, J.G.; McCahon, Robert A.

Abstract

Background: Visuospatial ability correlates positively with novice performance of simple laparoscopic tasks. The aims of this study were to identify if visuospatial ability could predict technical performance of an ultrasound–guided needle task by novice operators, and to describe how emotional state, intelligence and fear of failure impact on this.
Methods: Sixty medical student volunteers enrolled in this observational study. We used an instructional video to standardize training for ultrasound-guided needle advancement in a turkey breast model and assessed volunteers’ performance independently by two assessors using composite error score (CES) and global rating scale (GRS). We assessed their ‘visuospatial ability’ with mental rotation test (MRT), group embedded figures test (GEFT) and Alice Heim group ability (AH4) test. ‘Emotional state’ was judged with UWIST mood adjective checklist (UMACL) and fear of failure, and ‘general cognitive ability’ with numerical reasoning test (NRT-20).
Results: High CES scores (high error rate) were associated with low MRT scores (= −0.54; P

Citation

Atif, S., Ferguson, E., Thanawala, V., Bedforth, N. M., Hardman, J., & McCahon, R. A. (2015). Visuospatial ability as a predictor of novice performance in ultrasound–guided regional anesthesia. Anesthesiology, 123(5), https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000000870

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 1, 2015
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Nov 12, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 12, 2015
• Journal: Anesthesiology
• Print ISSN: 0003-3022
• Electronic ISSN: 1528-1175
• Publisher: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 123
• Issue: 5
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0000000000000870
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/762306
• Publisher URL: http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com/sp-3.17.0a/ovidweb.cgi?QS2=434f4e1a73d37e8ce55b227ffaae5fa181c9a103c309d20c7cc4d51f7ae82184c0540017a597012634f2823101027916e5aa42936becc063d9cbe1df9f63097d27a91ba3caae5f48dd9e8225ba3ae21d8fb0eb82dd2ce8922d6dca5fb3fec3d8b9fbb59a86
• Additional Information: Copyright (C) by 2015, the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Inc. Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This is the author's manuscript and not the final published version.