Table 3. Characteristics of survey subjects and the results of the responses to the questionnaire.
| Characteristics of survey subjects | Values (N = 14) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age, yr | 47.5 (42.5–52) | |
| Male | 13 (92.9) | |
| The size of the hospital you are currently working in, the number of beds for inpatient care | 1,000 (775–1,575) | |
| Experience as a specialist in respiratory medicine, yr | 14 (10.8–18) | |
| When was your first observation for rigid bronchoscopy after the acquisition of a specialist license for respiratory medicine?, yr | 3.5 (1–8.5) | |
| When did you start rigid bronchoscopy without supervision after the first observation?, yra | 1 (0–2) | |
| The total number of cases you have performed as a main operator | 60 (28–98) | |
| Average number of cases per month in the last year | ||
| Less than 1 | 7 (50.0) | |
| 1–2 | 5 (35.7) | |
| 3–5 | 2 (14.3) | |
| Trend in the number of cases since you started the first rigid bronchoscopya | ||
| Steadily increasing | 3 (23.1) | |
| Repetition of increments and decrements | 2 (15.4) | |
| Steadily decreasing after peak | 6 (46.2) | |
| Steadily small number | 2 (15.4) | |
| Questionnaire | 0–10 point | |
| 1. To what extent did each of the following items act as obstacles in starting the rigid bronchoscopy procedure?b,c | ||
| A. Difficulties in maintaining and improving technical proficiency due to the small number of patient cases | 5 (3.8–7.3) | |
| B. Lack of supervisor | 3.5 (2–6.5) | |
| C. Lack of experience or non-cooperation with other departments including the anesthesia department | 2.5 (2–8) | |
| D. Lack of experience or non-cooperation within the pulmonology department | 2 (0–3.3) | |
| E. Insufficient equipment related to rigid bronchoscopy | 2.5 (0–6.5) | |
| 2. To what extent do each of the following items act as obstacles in stably operating recent rigid bronchoscopy procedures?b,d | ||
| A. Difficulty in maintaining and improving technical proficiency due to the small number of patient cases | 3 (2.5–5.3) | |
| B. Lack of supervisor | 1 (0–3) | |
| C. Feeling depressed about medical accidents | 2 (0.8–3) | |
| D. Decreased interest in rigid bronchoscopy procedures | 1 (0–2.3) | |
| E. Lack of experience or non-cooperation with other departments | 3.5 (1–6.8) | |
| F. Lack of experience or non-cooperation within the pulmonology department | 1 (0–2.3) | |
| G. Insufficient equipment related to rigid bronchoscopy | 1.5 (0–3.5) | |
| H. Recent administrative difficulties in rigid bronchoscopy | 4 (1.8–10) | |
| 3. How important do you think the following points are to initiating rigid bronchoscopy for juniors?e,f | ||
| A. Online/offline case discussion with experts | 8 (5.8–10) | |
| B. Long-term training in a hospital where a lot of rigid bronchoscopies are performed | 8 (5–10) | |
| C. Collaboration with other medical staff such as anesthesiologists and thoracic surgeons | 7.5 (6–10) | |
| D. Purchase of rigid bronchoscopy-related equipment | 7.5 (2–8.5) | |
| E. Maintaining and improving skills through steady effort | 7 (4.8–8.5) | |
| F. Maintaining interest by continuing to attend relevant conferences | 6 (5–9.3) | |
| G. Innate hand skills | 6 (5–8) | |
| H. Collaboration with pulmonologists | 5 (2–8) | |
| I. Training intern, resident, and fellow medical staff | 5 (2.8–6) | |
| J. Collaboration with the departments of nursing and administration | 3 (2–6.3) | |
Data are presented as median (interquartile range) or number (%) values.
aExcluding one operator who could not start the procedure due to administrative difficulties.
bSurvey subjects gave each question a score from 0 to 10. A score of 0 means ‘no problem at all’ and a score of 10 means ‘enough to give up’.
cOther comments: nighttime procedures after regular working hours (8 points), the work takes a lot of time to prepare due to various problems and interferes with other work (8 points), death or serious complications during the procedure (8 points), lack of manpower to help before and after the procedure (7 points), lack of resident to help (6 points), absence of alternative operators in case of emergency (6 points).
dOther comments: the work takes a lot of time to prepare due to various problems and interferes with other work (10 points), administrative improvement was made because anesthesia was given in the bronchoscopy room (not pointed).
eSurvey subjects gave each question a score from 0 to 10. A score of 0 means ‘not at all’ and a score of 10 means ‘very important’.
fOther comments: intensive short-term training of about 3 months (7 points), understanding of the procedure, and motivation to learn (5 points).