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Teamwork Assessment Tools in Modern Surgical Practice: A Systematic Review
George Whittaker1, Hamid Abboudi2, Muhammed Shamim Khan2
1School of Medical Education, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, UK.
Surgery Research and Practice
|October 2, 2015
Summary
Teamwork skills are crucial in surgery to prevent adverse events. The Nontechnical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) assessment tool demonstrates high validity for evaluating surgical trainees' nontechnical performance.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Surgical Training
- Patient Safety
Background:
- Deficiencies in teamwork skills are linked to surgical adverse events.
- Existing teamwork assessment tools aim to evaluate trainee nontechnical performance.
- Current surgical training may not adequately address nontechnical skill development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an overview of teamwork assessment instruments for surgical trainees.
- To review the validity and reliability of identified teamwork assessment tools.
- To identify deficiencies in current teamwork training and propose recommendations.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases.
- Identification and review of teamwork assessment tools for surgical trainees.
- Evaluation of tool validity, reliability, and acceptability.
Main Results:
- Eight teamwork assessment tools were identified.
- The Nontechnical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) assessment showed the highest validity.
- NOTSS demonstrated established reliability and acceptability.
Conclusions:
- Current surgical training requires enhancement to meet evolving surgeon competencies.
- Recommendations include integrating teamwork training and assessment into medical curricula.
- Standardized assessor training and concurrent technical/nontechnical skills training are proposed.
