Professor Steven Yule, Chair of Behavioural Sciences at the University of Edinburgh and Director of Non-Technical Skills at RCSEd, recently shared his thoughts ahead of receiving the inaugural MacLeod McLaren Medal in Patient Safety at the upcoming 2025 Triennial and ICOSET Conference, taking place 4-6 June. For a detailed overview of the conference programme, including workshop topics and timings, download it here.
In this blog, Professor Steven discusses the significance of the award, the urgent need for performance analytics in surgery, and what he hopes attendees will take away from his workshop. Learn more about the MacLeod McLaren Medal in Patient Safety and its story here.
What does it mean to you to be recognised with the MacLeod McLaren Award?
"Winning the MacLeod McLaren Medal is a tremendous honour for everyone connected to the Surgical Sabermetrics Laboratory at University of Edinburgh. It recognises that our multidisciplinary, data-driven approach is advancing both scientific understanding and real-world patient safety. This award reflects years of research, collaboration, and innovation with partners globally, including the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. While we celebrate this milestone, we also see it as a catalyst to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in performance science, surgical education, and patient safety."
Why do you think this audience needs to hear about performance analytics in the operating room right now?
"We are entering a pivotal moment in surgery. Operating rooms are under pressure to deliver safe, efficient care and training opportunities amid growing complexity, workforce burnout, and political uncertainty. Yet the way we measure performance has not kept pace and there are still many gaps in our understanding of patient safety to address. The audience needs to hear that analytics powered by wearable sensors, operative video analysis and machine learning can provide surgeons with objective insight into technical, tactical, cognitive and even physical performance, just like professional athletes."
What do you hope the audience will walk away with after your presentation?
"I hope they walk away with the sense that the future of surgical safety is already here; and that they have a role in shaping it. I want the audience to understand that surgical performance goes far beyond technical skill. With today’s technology, we are developing new ways to measure teamwork, decision-making, and cognitive load. These advances make performance assessment more objective, inclusive, and scalable for all surgical teams. If people leave inspired to bring sabermetrics thinking into their own context, whether that is in the operating room, ward round, clinic, simulation, education, or policy, then we have achieved something!"
Triennial and ICOSET Conference 2025
Prepare to be inspired at the 2025 Triennial and ICOSET Conference, where some of the brightest minds in surgery will converge to explore 'A World of Innovation.' Dive into the future of surgery with cutting-edge technology and groundbreaking ideas that will shape the next era of medical excellence.
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