A 1-Minute Mindfulness Exercise for Surgical Teams in the Operating Room: An Acceptability Pilot

Background: The operating room (OR) is a high-stress, time-constrained environment where team focus is critical to patient safety. Mindfulness-based interventions can improve stress and attention, but their duration often limits integration into the surgical workflow. We evaluated the acceptability and initial perceptions of a brief, 1-minute mindfulness exercise delivered to the surgical team immediately before surgery.

Methods: A single-arm acceptability pilot study was conducted in which a meditation was played over a speaker in the OR prior to the procedure; participation was optional. After surgery, team members were invited to complete a survey. The survey included five items assessing perceived calm, clarity, stress, contribution to patient safety, and likelihood of recommending the exercise, along with an open-ended feedback item. Responses were summarized descriptively, and chi-square tests compared dichotomized responses by physician status.

Results: A total of 116 individuals participated. Surgeons represented the largest group (32.8%), followed by nurses (19.8%). Across items, more than half of respondents reported favorable perceptions related to calmness, clarity, stress, contribution to patient safety, and likelihood of recommending the exercise; fewer than 15% of respondents disagreed. Overall, 61% reported they would recommend the exercise. Responses did not differ between physician and non-physician team members across survey items.

Conclusions: The intervention was acceptable with generally positive initial perceptions across the surgical team. Future work should refine delivery within the operative workflow and evaluate feasibility and efficacy in larger-scale studies, including impacts on individual providers, team functioning, and downstream patient care and safety outcomes.