Evidence for transfer and long-term impact of mental practice is sparse but includes positive trends: combined MP plus physical practice improved suturing transfer, and mental rehearsal lowered endovascular error rates¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · reviewr2–r3·q1
Currency · newest study 2020 · checked against its sources 2026-11-01 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q1 i? One study reported by Cocks et al. found MP combined with physical practice improved medical students' suturing skills on anaesthetised rabbits at a distance of time, compared with controls doing physical practice alone. → Snelgrove Huon; Gabbott Ben 2020
q1 i? Anton et al. report a study in endovascular surgery in which error rates during the endovascular phase were lower after a structured mental rehearsal intervention compared to before. → Snelgrove Huon; Gabbott Ben 2020 (2)
Evidence¶
Snelgrove Huon; Gabbott Ben 2020¶
Snelgrove Huon; Gabbott Ben. (2020). Critical analysis of evidence about the impacts on surgical teams of ‘mental practice’ in systematic reviews: a systematic rapid evidence assessment (SREA). BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02131-3
q1 · i? · review · r3
The SREA reports, citing Cocks et al., a single transfer study: "MP and physical practice in combination, improved medical students suturing skills at distance of time on anaesthetised rabbits" versus physical-practice-only controls. No effect size is printed.
"Cocks et al. [38] report one study of learning ‘transfer’ where MP and physical practice in combination, improved medical students suturing skills at distance of time on anaesthetised rabbits compared to controls who did physical practice alone."
Snelgrove Huon; Gabbott Ben 2020 (2)¶
Snelgrove Huon; Gabbott Ben. (2020). Critical analysis of evidence about the impacts on surgical teams of ‘mental practice’ in systematic reviews: a systematic rapid evidence assessment (SREA). BMC Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02131-3
q1 · i? · review · r2
The SREA reports, citing Anton et al., an endovascular surgery study in which "error rates during the endovascular phase were lower after the MP intervention compared to before" — a before-after comparison, no effect size printed.
"Anton et al. report a recent study in endovascular surgery [45] in which error rates during the endovascular phase were lower after the MP intervention compared to before."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Evidence for mental practice impacts in surgery does not exceed Kirkpatrick level 3, and no study reported system-level (level 4) change
- Reviews report that mental practice effectiveness may depend on individual imagery strength, and that MP interventions vary widely in duration, delivery mode and setting — related
- Mental practice improves surgical technical and non-technical performance in the majority of primary studies synthesised in systematic reviews — a broader claim this one bears on
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review |
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by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-11-01 |
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