A study of the safety of cesarean sections performed by residents aspiring obstetricians and gynecologists and the impact of this experience on the emotional state of the residents

• Published in: Journal of Japan Society of Perinatal and Neonatal Medicine Vol. 59; no. 1; pp. 20 - 26
• Main Authors: Obata, Shintaro, Sanada, Michio, Hanawa, Shinsuke, Sato, Shiro, Nishikata, Noriko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japan Society of Perinatal and Neonatal Medicine 2023; 一般社団法人 日本周産期・新生児医学会
• Subjects: cesarean section; resident; training
• ISSN: 1348-964X; 2435-4996
• DOI: 10.34456/jjspnm.59.1_20

This study aims to examine the safety of cesarean sections performed by residents aspiring to be obstetricians and gynecologists in our hospital, and to evaluate the psychological impact of cesarean section on the residents. The subjects were 213 patients who underwent caesarean section at our hospital from 2014 to 2019. Sixty six of these caesarean sections（residents group）were performed by 9 residents, and 147（instructors group）were performed by 8 instructors. Clinical backgrounds, surgical information, and outcomes were compared between the two groups. A questionnaire was also circulated among participating residents. Median surgery time and time from start of surgery to delivery of the fetus were 83.5 minutes and 14 minutes for the residents group. These times were 61 minutes and 7 minutes for the instructors group. The residents group significantly extended operation time and time from start of surgery to delivery of the fetus relative to the instructor group. Median Umbilical Artery pH values were 7.306 for residents and 7.33 for the instructors. The residents’ results were significantly lower than the instructors’ results（P＝0.001）. No significant differences were observed in other outcomes. The results of the questionnaire showed that there were positive opinions associated with having cesarean section experience, as it increased motivation for training and influenced on their career paths. The Cesarean section performed by residents is acceptable in terms of safety under supervision of a supervising instructors, and may contribute to the improvement of training motivation and recruitment of residents.