The impact of intraoperative non-technical skills training on scrub practitioners' self-efficacy: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND

Approximately half of all adverse events occur in the operating room, highlighting the critical role of non-technical skills in operating rooms. Effective non-technical skills among operating room nurses can significantly reduce the occurrence of such events. Moreover, self-efficacy in non-technical skills may directly impact professional performance and patient safety. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the impact of intraoperative non-technical skills training on scrub practitioners' self-efficacy.

METHODS

In a randomized controlled trial, 30 scrub practitioners were assigned to the intervention group and 30 to the control group through random allocation. The intervention group underwent training in non-technical skills using a combined technique of lectures and simulated video scenarios delivered in two two-hour training sessions. Meanwhile, the control group received no training. The data collection tool was a two-part questionnaire. The first part collected demographic data (age, gender, work experience, and educational level), while the second part assessed scrub practitioners' self-efficacy in intraoperative non-technical skills. The questionnaire was administered online in two phases, with a one-month interval between them, through the Telegram application to the participants in both groups. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and paired t-tests.

RESULTS

The demographic variables of the intervention group did not show significant differences compared to the control group. The independent t-test revealed no significant difference in overall self-efficacy between the intervention and control groups before the training (P = 0.513). However, after the training, a statistically significant difference was observed (P = 0.025). There were no significant differences among the self-efficacy components between the intervention and control groups before the training (P > 0.05). However, after the training, self-efficacy in the two skills of situation awareness and communication and teamwork showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Non-technical skills are crucial for scrub practitioners to perform their tasks safely and efficiently. Training can enhance the self-efficacy of scrub practitioners in their non-technical skills. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate non-technical skills training into the educational curriculum and continuing education programs for scrub practitioners.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

The IRCT code (IRCT20150715023216N15) was obtained from the Iranian Clinical Trials Registry website on 2023/08/05 before sampling.