Evaluating Workload Indicators for Learning During Stress Exposure Training of Endotracheal Intubation

Endotracheal intubation (ETI) is an important procedure of point-of-injury care and emergency medicine. Although ETI is a complex procedure with possible stressful conditions demanding higher levels of mental workload, traditional training methods do not involve stress exposure training. This study aims to evaluate potential workload indicators for stress exposure training for ETI. Twelve participants executed intubation tasks in three separate visits and were exposed to auditory and visual stressors. Participants were instrumented with eye-tracking glasses and a heart rate monitor. Participants rated their perceived workload using the NASA-Task Load Index scale. When comparing the first repetitions during the first visit to the last repetitions on the last visit, participants expressed a significant improvement in performance, reduction in perceived workload, and smaller differences in heart-rate variability between rest and task execution. Results demonstrated the potential effectiveness of stress exposure training in improving performance and reducing mental workload.