The role of teamwork and non-technical skills for improving emergency surgical outcomes: an international perspective

Philip F Stahel; Lorenzo Cobianchi; Francesca Dal Mas; Simon Paterson-Brown; Boris E Sakakushev; Christine Nguyen; Gustavo P Fraga; Steven Yule; Dimitrios Damaskos; Andrew J Healey; Walter Biffl; Luca Ansaloni; Fausto Catena

doi:10.1186/s13037-022-00317-w

The role of teamwork and non-technical skills for improving emergency surgical outcomes: an international perspective

Patient Saf Surg. 2022 Feb 8;16(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s13037-022-00317-w.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Specialty Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Rocky Vista University, 8401 S. Chambers Rd, Parker, CO, 80134, USA. Philip.Stahel@gmail.com.
² The Medical Center of Aurora, 1501 S. Potomac St, Aurora, CO, 80012, USA. Philip.Stahel@gmail.com.
³ Department of Clinical, Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, Policlinico San Matteo, University of Pavia, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
⁴ Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, Lincolnshire, UK.
⁵ Department of General Surgery, Royal Infirmary, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH16 4SA, UK.
⁶ First Clinic of General Surgery, Research Institute of the Medical University Plovdiv (RIMU), University Hospital St. George (UMHAT), Plovdiv, 4000, Bulgaria.
⁷ The Medical Center of Aurora, 1501 S. Potomac St, Aurora, CO, 80012, USA.
⁸ Department of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences (SMS), University of Campinas (Unicamp), Campinas, SP, 13.083-970, Brazil.
⁹ Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
¹⁰ Department of General and Emergency Surgery, AUSL Della Romagna, Ospedale Maurizio Bufalini, 47521, Cesena, Italy.

Abstract

The assurance of patient safety in emergency general surgery remains challenging due to the patients' high-risk underlying conditions and the wide variability in emergency surgical care provided around the globe. The authors of this article convened as an expert panel on patient safety in surgery at the 8^th International Conference of the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) in Edinburgh, Scotland, on September 7-10, 2021. This review article represents the proceedings from the expert panel discussions at the WSES congress and was designed to provide an international perspective on optimizing teamwork and non-technical skills in emergency general surgery.

Keywords: Emergency general surgery; Non-technical skills; Patient safety in surgery; Surgeon-related factors; Teamwork.

Publication types

Review