Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT07615582

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

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.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

Multitasking Behavior and Multitasking Ability Anesthesia Behavior Clinical Performance Clinical Reasoning Multitasking Behavior Simulation Based Medical Education Simulation Training

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

About this study

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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Anesthesiology and intensive care resident or attending physician
  • Written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

  • None

Treatment and study plan

Multitasking

Other

Simulation training session during which participants will be required to multitask by performing manual mask ventilation on a manikin while answering oral clinical questions administered in the form of Script Concordance Tests (SCTs).

Primary outcomes

  1. Concordance score with the expert panel on a Script Concordance Test (SCT)

    Time frame: At two time points: - During simulation session under multitasking conditions - During control visit under quiet conditions

    Each item of the SCT is scored out of 1 point, and the sum of the points, converted to a 100-point scale, defines the percentage of concordance with the expert panel.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Manual ventilation performance assessed by variance of expiratory tidal volume (ml)

    Time frame: - Training before simulation: baseline - During simulation: ventilation only, ventilation plus clinical questions

    Participants will be instructed to ventilate with an expiratory tidal volume (Vte) between 450 and 500 mL at a respiratory rate of 15 breaths per minute. Variability in Vte will be used as an indicator of the difficulty in complying with these instructions.

  2. Manual ventilation performance assessed by variance of respiratory rate (cycles/minute)

    Time frame: - Training before simulation: baseline - During simulation: ventilation only, ventilation plus clinical questions

    Participants will be instructed to ventilate with an expiratory tidal volume (Vte) between 450 and 500 mL at a respiratory rate of 15 breaths per minute. Variability in respiratory rate will be used as an indicator of the difficulty in complying with these instructions.

  3. Cognitive load assessed by the NASA-TLX index (score out of 100)

    Time frame: A two time points: - Evaluating cognitive load of manual ventilation alone, before simulation after training. - Evaluation cognitive load of multitasking, at the end of the simulation session

    The Official NASA Task Load Index (TLX) is a subjective workload assessment tool. By incorporating a multi-dimensional rating procedure, NASA TLX derives an overall workload score based on a weighted average of ratings on six subscales: mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, performance, effort, frustration.

  4. Time to answer items of the script concordance test (seconds)

    Time frame: Two time points: intervention and control.

    Time between end of question and beggining of answer for each item of the script concordance test.

    Evaluates the interruption lag.

Other outcomes

  1. Exploratory sub-group analysis of the primary outcome measure

    Time frame: Two time points: intervention and control.

    Subgroups:

    • Clinical experience in anesthesiology < or >= 5 semesters
    • Left handed or right handed
    • Musical practice < or >= 5 years
    • Need for cognition scale (18 questions): < or >= median of the group score

  2. Exploratory subgroup analyses of expiratory tidal volume variance and respiratory rate variance

    Time frame: - Training before simulation: baseline - During simulation: ventilation only, ventilation plus clinical questions

    Subgroups:

    • Clinical experience in anesthesiology < or >= 5 semesters
    • Left handed or right handed
    • Musical practice < or >= 5 years
    • Need for cognition scale (18 questions): < or >= median of the group score

  3. Descriptive analysis of ventilation parameters

    Time frame: Training phase (baseline), simulation phase (ventilation-only and ventilation plus clinical questions)

    • Inspiratory tidal volume (ml)
    • Expiratory tidal volume (ml)
    • Respiratory rate (cycles/minute)
    • Resumption lag: time required to re-establish stable ventilation following interruption (seconds)

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Caroline Sanchez, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

0476766829

Jean-Noël Evain, MD, PhD

CONTACT

[email protected]

+33476766829

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Grenoble

Other

Registry information

Acronym: FOCUS

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
May 29, 2026
Registry last updated
Jul 2, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.