Traditional medical teaching focuses heavily on the training of individuals to perform surgery. However, it is increasingly recognised that as well as the technical aspects of performing surgery, human factors are very important and many adverse patient outcomes are related to human factors.
The StratOG tutorial on human factors contains the following description:
"These skills can be defined as behaviours not directly related to the use of medical expertise, drugs or equipment ... Such skills are not new; good doctors have always demonstrated these competencies. However, training can improve these skills."
Human factors can be divided into two aspects (Fortune et al 2013):
- How humans work in their environment
- Non-technical skills.
Non-technical skills include:
- social skills – communication, team-working and leadership
- cognitive skills – situational awareness and decision-making
- personal factors – for example the ability to manage stress and cope with fatigue.
Surgeons need to have good technical AND non-technical skills.
Both are essential for patient safety.
Both are skills that can be taught and developed.
The NOTSS system provides a framework to help provide feedback in these areas. Trainers will be able to provide high-quality feedback as they become familiar with the language of human factors and non-technical skills.
Fortune PM, Davis M, Hanson J, Phillips B. Human Factors in the Healthcare Setting: a pocket guide for instructors. Wiley-Blackwell. 2013. Chapter 1.
For more information, see the StratOG tutorial on Human factors.