Table 1 Example excerpts from interviews and mental practice script cues

“Discuss proper placement of the initial bone cuts along the posterior canal.”

“Find the spine of Henle, and basically hug the posterior ear canal…place the suction in the ear canal so you can use a kinesthetic feel of the suction and drill to see how closely they are to each other while drilling.”

Kinesthetic:

“By placing your suction in the ear canal, you get a kinesthetic feel, tactile feedback telling you the thickness of the bone.”

“Discuss identification of the facial recess.”

“From the line through the body of the incus and inferiorly into the posterior canal, that line delineates the facial recess, what Residents are taught is to be faithful to that line.”

Visual:

“Now, you clearly visualize a line through the body of the incus pointing inferiorly along the posterior ear canal. You start drilling, remaining faithful to this line.”