The MICROSCOPE Project
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Peri-operative support measures [mentorship, intraoperative consult, surgical coaching, standard practice (no structured support)].
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Early Career Surgeons, Mental Wellbeing, Patients Outcomes, Mentorship. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Italy
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Mentorship, Intraoperative Consultation, and Coaching for Resilience and Outcomes in Early-career Surgeons Through Collaborative Peer Environment (MICROSCOPE): a Prospective International Time-bound Project
Overview
This multicenter observational prospective study aims to explore the impact of peri-operative support measures (mentorship or coaching or intraoperative consultation) on the mental well-being of early career surgeons. Furthermore sub-analyses will be conducted to explore the impact that surgeons mental wellbeing related to different support measures could have on patients' outcomes
Detailed description
The MICROSCOPE study is a prospective, international, observational project evaluating the impact of structured perioperative support-mentorship, intraoperative consultation (IOC), and surgical coaching-on the well-being of early-career surgeons and their patients' outcomes.
Early-career surgeons (within 10 years post-training) face high stress, with limited structured support. This study investigates whether professional guidance improves surgeon resilience, reduces burnout, and enhances performance.
The project includes two components:
Surgeon-level study: Participants are observed over 12 months and grouped by support type received. Mental health outcomes are assessed using validated tools (Maslach Burnout Inventory, CD-RISC-10, QoL scale), alongside self- and assistant-rated performance metrics.
Patient-level study: Adult patients operated on by enrolled surgeons during the first 3 months are followed for 90 days. Outcomes include postoperative complications (CCI®, Clavien-Dindo), intraoperative events (Satava), reoperation, readmission, and mortality.
Data are collected via REDCap and analyzed using adjusted mixed-effects models to account for clustering and confounders. The study is investigator-initiated, with no external funding, and adheres to ethical standards including local IRB approval and informed consent.
MICROSCOPE aims to generate real-world evidence on how structured support can improve both surgical care quality and surgeon well-being.
Interventions
- Behavioral Peri-operative support measures [mentorship, intraoperative consult, surgical coaching, standard practice (no structured support)]
Mentorship: Formal (assigned by an institution or via an official program) or informal (personal relationship built during the career pathway) professional guidance relationships that support early-career surgeons in clinical decision-making, technical development, and emotional processing. Surgical Coaching: Structured, feedback-oriented discussions or sessions aimed at performance enhancement and reflective practice Intraoperative Consultation (IOC): Real-time assistance or second opinions pr
Primary outcome measures
- Burnout: Emotional Exhaustion [Time frame: Baseline, Perioperative, 3 months, 6 months]
Secondary outcome measures (4)
- Burnout: Depersonalization [Time frame: Baseline, Perioperative, 3 months, 6 months]
- Psychological resilience [Time frame: Baseline, Perioperative, 3 months, and 6 months]
- Perceived Surgical Performance [Time frame: Perioperative]
- Perceived Surgical Performance by the assistant [Time frame: Perioperative]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Adult patients (≥18 years) treated for abdominal general surgical conditions in the emergency or elective setting or for thoraco-abdominal traumatic diseases. The list of surgical procedures is reported in the Supplementary Material 1
- Surgeries performed in elective, trauma, or emergency general surgery care
Exclusion criteria
- Patients operated by surgeons who completed general surgery residency more than 10 years before the study start date
- Pediatric patients < 18 years of age
- Patients or surgeons not willing to give their consent to participate
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Observational model
- Cohort
Study locations
Italy · 1 center
- ASST GOM Niguarda — Milan
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07153224 · M1