Is Crew Resource Management Training Effective in Healthcare Settings?

Abstract

The healthcare industry has seen a recent proliferation in the adoption of team training, such as crew resource management (CRM). Empirical studies of the effectiveness of CRM-type training in healthcare were subjected to meta-analysis. Fourteen CRM evaluation studies were found to fulfill the a priori criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The metrics of CRM training effectiveness analyzed were: reactions, attitudes, knowledge, behaviors, and organization. CRM trained participants responded positively to CRM, the training had large effects on the participants’ knowledge and behaviors, and a medium effect on their attitudes. The training was also found to have a medium effect on the number of errors/adverse events and a small effect on the time to complete clinical tasks. Although there are methodological limitations that mean the results from this study should be treated with a little caution, the findings are nevertheless encouraging.