Impact of Mental Training on the Stress of Anaesthesiology Residents Before Performing Obstetrical Epidural Analgesia

Residents were randomly assigned to either a "Control" group or a "Mental Training" group, the latter undergoing a mental preparation session before performing lumbar epidural anaesthesia. Randomisation was performed in blocks of eight by an external party and stratified by training year (second or third) and gender. Residents were informed they would be participating in a training session involving anaesthetic practice on a low-fidelity simulator.

On the day of the simulation, residents were individually welcomed in a briefing room by an anaesthetist specialised in mental preparation. Group assignment was revealed from a sealed envelope and residents were informed that the simulation would involve acting as the on-call anaesthesia resident in a maternity ward. The scenario began with a call from a midwife requesting an epidural placement for a laboring patient. Depending on their assigned group, residents either received a mental preparation session or proceeded without it. Both groups participated in a ten-minute briefing session.

Inclusion criteria

Eligible subjects for this study were anaesthesia and intensive care residents enrolled at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rouen. Residents were eligible if they were in the early stages of training (second and third years of residency) and had previously performed lumbar epidural anaesthesia multiple times in a maternity setting.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria included first-year residents, as not all had performed obstetric lumbar epidural anaesthesia at the time of the study, and senior residents (fourth and fifth years).