The MICROSCOPE Project
MICROSCOPE
Mentorship, Intraoperative Consultation, and Coaching for Resilience and Outcomes in Early-career Surgeons Through Collaborative Peer Environment (MICROSCOPE): a Prospective International Time-bound Project
1 other identifier
observational
340
1 country
1
Brief Summary
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
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for all trials
Started Jun 2026
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
First Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
August 11, 2025
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
September 3, 2025
CompletedStudy Start
First participant enrolled
June 1, 2026
ExpectedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
September 1, 2027
Study Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
December 31, 2027
April 17, 2026
April 1, 2026
1.3 years
August 11, 2025
April 15, 2026
Conditions
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (1)
Burnout: Emotional Exhaustion
Maximun score 48. High scores relate to higher Emotional Exhaustion, contributing to higher burnout
Baseline, Perioperative, 3 months, 6 months
Secondary Outcomes (4)
Burnout: Depersonalization
Baseline, Perioperative, 3 months, 6 months
Psychological resilience
Baseline, Perioperative, 3 months, and 6 months
Perceived Surgical Performance
Perioperative
Perceived Surgical Performance by the assistant
Perioperative
Study Arms (1)
Early-career surgeons
Early career surgeons mental wellbeing status in terms of burnout, resilience and perceived quality of life will be observed exploring the relationship with the peri-operative support measure received (mentorship, intraoperative consultation, surgical coaching or standard practice). Also the outcomes of patients operated on by early career surgeons will be studied. Furthermore potential relationship between perio-operative supporto measures, mental status and outcomes will be explored.
Interventions
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 provided by a more experienced surgeon or peers during a surgical procedure Standard practice: the surgeon performs the procedure supported by one or multiple assistants, as per internal hospital protocols and national/local regulations, receiving and providing natural feedback without a structured support system.
Eligibility Criteria
Early career surgeons: graduating in general surgery in the last 10 years Surgeons performing elective general surgery, emergency general surgery and trauma surgery
You may qualify if:
- 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
You may not qualify if:
- 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
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
Study Sites (1)
ASST GOM Niguarda
Milan, Lombardy, 20162, Italy
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Stefano Piero Bernardo Cioffi, MD
Niguarda Hospital
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- observational
- Observational Model
- COHORT
- Time Perspective
- PROSPECTIVE
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- SPONSOR
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
August 11, 2025
First Posted
September 3, 2025
Study Start (Estimated)
June 1, 2026
Primary Completion (Estimated)
September 1, 2027
Study Completion (Estimated)
December 31, 2027
Last Updated
April 17, 2026
Record last verified: 2026-04
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will share
- Shared Documents
- STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR, ANALYTIC CODE
- Time Frame
- After data collection completion, at least 12 months after study start date and for 1 year after then.
- Access Criteria
- Upon reasonable request to the study principal investigator
The MICROSCOPE project is committed to ensuring reproducibility and transparency in its research practices. To support this, the following measures will be implemented: The study protocol and statistical analysis plan (SAP) will be registered and publicly available on Clinicaltrials.gov upon study initiation. Core study instruments will be documented and shared as supplementary materials in publications where possible. Statistical code used for primary and secondary outcome analyses will be made available upon reasonable request, subject to data-sharing agreements and institutional approvals. Deidentified, aggregate-level data may be shared with external collaborators for secondary analysis, conditional on ethical approval and collaborative agreements.