Interprofessional non-technical skills for surgeons in disaster response: A qualitative study of the Australian perspective.
Interprofessional non-technical skills for surgeons in disaster response have not yet been developed. The aims of this study were to identify the non-technical skills required of surgeons in disaster response and training for disaster response and to explore the barriers and facilitators to interprofessional practice in surgical teams responding to disasters. Twenty health professionals, with prior experience in natural disaster response or education, participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews. A qualitative matrix analysis design was used to thematically analyze the data. Non-technical skills for surgeons in disaster response identified in this study included skills for austere environments, cognitive strategies and interprofessional skills. Skills for austere environments were physical self-care including survival skills, psychological self-care, flexibility, adaptability, innovation and improvisation. Cognitive strategies identified in this study were 'big picture' thinking, situational awareness, critical thinking, problem solving and creativity. Interprofessional attributes include communication, team-player, sense of humor, cultural competency and conflict resolution skills. 'Interprofessionalism' in disaster teams also emerged as a key factor in this study and incorporated elements of effective teamwork, clear leadership, role adjustment and conflict resolution. The majority of participants held the belief that surgeons needed training in non-technical skills in order to achieve best practice in disaster response. Surgeons considerring becoming involved in disaster management should be trained in these skills, and these skills should be incorporated into disaster preparation courses with an interprofessional focus.
Iterative inductive and deductive approach with literature triangulation for the development of themes.Transcriptions analyzed using TCA to identify themes following the matrix method analysis.
Qualitative-matrix analysis design – Thematic content analysis (TCA) and interviews
Non-technical skills for surgeons in disaster response classified in 3 categories:Austere environment skillsCognitive strategiesInterprofessional skills
Prioritize a diverse professional participant pool in sampling to reflect the variety of health disciplines represented in disaster response.Health professionals were divided into four broad professional categories.
Purposeful, snowball and maximum variation sampling were used to identify participants.Collection through voluntary semi-structured in-depth interviews (20 of them ranging from 45mins. To 2hrs in duration)8 were conducted face-to-face12 were telephonic interviews [due to geographical location]
What are the perceptions of surgeons and other health professionals of the current and required interprofessional non-technical core competencies of surgeons in disaster management?
the sample size of this work was limited to 20 participants, restricting the ability to apply the findings to other settings.views of non-medical disaster personnel were not part of the participant group
The majority of participants held the belief that surgeons needed training in non-technical skills in order to achieve best practice in disaster response. Surgeons considering becoming involved in disaster management should be trained in these skills, and these skills should be incorporated into disaster preparation courses with an interprofessional focus.
The phenomena explored within this study are interprofessional nontechnicalcompetencies for surgeons in disaster response.
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