The Effect of Educational Intervention on the Improvement of Nontechnical Skills in Circulating Nurses.

Reza Kalantari,Zahra Zamanian,Mehdi Hasanshahi,Seyed Aliakbar Faghihi,Hadi Niakan,Jamshid Jamali,Chuan Ye

doi:10.1155/2021/5856730

Abstract

Background Nontechnical skills are necessary for clinicians' safe performance and prevention of errors in the operating room. Educational intervention is a useful way to improve these skills, which are a vital area for improvement. Circulating nurses are surgical team members whose work depends heavily on using nontechnical skills. This study is aimed at assessing the effect of an educational intervention on the improvement of circulating nurses' nontechnical skills. Methods This semiexperimental study was conducted on 300 circulating nurses divided into the intervention and no intervention groups each containing 150 participants. The nontechnical skills were assessed using the circulating practitioners' list of nontechnical skills. Then, the intervention group received training regarding these skills, and the two groups were evaluated again. After all, the data were entered into the SPSS 24 software and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon and Mann–Whitney tests. Furthermore, Kendall's tau, independent sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA were used for assessment of relationship between median scores and demographics. Results The results revealed a significant improvement in the scores of all domains of nontechnical skills in the intervention group (p < 0.05). The highest and lowest improvements were observed in teamwork (42%) and situational awareness (16.7%), respectively. After the intervention, the scores of some of the behaviors were still below the average level or were not improved significantly. Conclusions Circulating nurses' nontechnical skills can be improved by educational interventions. However, regarding the low scores or no improvements in the scores of some behaviors, other intervention types such as policymaking and correcting the existing hierarchies in the operating room can be useful to complete the educational interventions.

Highlights

Nontechnical skills refer to the intrapersonal and cognitive skills that facilitate the effective delivery of safe services [1]
Adverse events in surgeries have highlighted the importance of nontechnical skills in the operating room [3]
Surgical procedures are known as standard treatment for many illnesses [4,5,6,7], so studying nontechnical skills in surgeries is of interest

Summary

Introduction

Nontechnical skills refer to the intrapersonal and cognitive skills that facilitate the effective delivery of safe services [1]. Surgical procedures are known as standard treatment for many illnesses [4,5,6,7], so studying nontechnical skills in surgeries is of interest Deficiencies in these skills have been found to be associated with a higher risk of surgical complications and errors [8]. Adequate nontechnical skills can decrease the chance of errors and increase patient safety [11] These skills can improve technical skills in stressful situations [12] and are essential to an effective surgery [13]. This study is aimed at assessing the effect of an educational intervention on the improvement of circulating nurses’ nontechnical skills. Circulating nurses’ nontechnical skills can be improved by educational interventions. Regarding the low scores or no improvements in the scores of some behaviors, other intervention types such as policymaking and correcting the existing hierarchies in the operating room can be useful to complete the educational interventions

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Methods

Results

Conclusion