Nontechnical skills training in cardiothoracic surgery: A pilot study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Human Factors in Medicine

Background:

• Nontechnical skills are crucial for surgical performance and patient safety.
• Formal assessment and training of nontechnical skills are increasingly important in surgical residency programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and impact of a formal Non-Technical Skills in Surgery (NOTSS) curriculum for cardiothoracic surgery residents.
• To evaluate resident performance and self-perceived confidence in nontechnical skills before and after the curriculum.

Main Methods:

• Eight cardiothoracic surgery residents participated in a simulation-based NOTSS curriculum.
• Residents underwent pre- and post-training assessments of cognitive (situation awareness, decision-making) and social (communication, teamwork, leadership) skills.
• Self-administered confidence ratings were collected, and changes were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in overall NOTSS scores (P=.01) and all individual skill categories (P=.01–.02).
• Residents reported increased self-perceived improvement in nontechnical skills post-curriculum (P=.01).

Conclusions:

• A simulation-based NOTSS curriculum can be effectively integrated into cardiothoracic surgery residency.
• The study demonstrates the feasibility of reproducible assessments for nontechnical skills competencies in surgical trainees.