Medical Trainees’ Emotions and Their Effects on Perceptions of Performance and Team Mood in Team-Based Simulations

Background. Emotions affect performance in learning contexts; however, their effects on medical trainees’ in highly ecologically valid settings, like team-based simulation trainings, are not well understood. It is therefore imperative to know which emotions are experienced by medical trainees and the impacts of these emotions on perceptions of performance and team mood. Aims. To extend the understanding of medical trainees’ emotions in the context of team-based medical simulations using a new self-report tool (Situated Emotion Regulation Questionnaire; SERQ). Sample. Participants were 106 medical trainees participating in team-based simulations. Seventy-one participated in multiple simulations. Methods. A field-based, mixed-methods methodology was used. Medical trainees self-reported their emotions and perceptions of individual performance, team performance, and team mood. Multilevel analyses were used to account for nestedness. Debriefings were qualitatively analyzed to provide validity evidence for the SERQ. Results. Team leaders reported significantly higher levels of shame post-simulation than team members. A variable comprising post-simulation happiness and hopefulness was a significant predictor of perceptions of team performance and team mood. Post-simulation frustration was a significant predictor of perceptions of team mood. Participants’ SERQ responses demonstrated alignment or mixed alignment with their debriefing responses. Conclusion. Using multilevel analyses, our research provides insight into medical trainees’ emotions and their effects on perceptions in highly ecologically valid simulation trainings. Future medical education training may use these findings to develop curricula and simulations to induce specific emotions or practice emotion regulation. Additionally, the SERQ demonstrated promising validity evidence and may be a valuable future research and educational tool.