IMPACT OF NON-TECHNICAL SKILLS TRAINING ON TRAUMA CARE TEAMS: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE henrydemian@gmail.com

 

IMPACT OF NON-TECHNICAL SKILLS TRAINING ON TRAUMA CARE TEAMS: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

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Susan Pannulo Susan@pannullo.com Columbia University Department of Neurosurgery New York United States Brain And Spine Group Neurosurgery Bridgewater, NJ, New York United States

Nigeria

Oral or Poster

Non technical skills (NTS) deficiencies contribute to 70% of adverse events in care, with communication failures alone accounting for 43% of medical errors. This review examines global evidence on NTS training effectiveness in trauma care teams, aiming to quantify impact on patient outcomes, team performance, and healthcare system efficiency across diverse settings.

A comprehensive review of peer-reviewed literature was conducted, analyzing studies from 25 countries including high-, middle-, and low-income healthcare systems. Evidence synthesis focused on validated assessment tools including the trauma Non-Technical Skills (T-NOTECHS) scale (T-NOTECHS scale), simulation-based training programs, and clinical outcome measures. Data sources included randomized controlled trials, observational studies, and multi-center implementation reports spanning 20,000+ healthcare professionals.

NTS training demonstrated significant clinical impact: each 1-point improvement in T-NOTECHS scores reduced cardiac arrest probability by 3% in hypotensive trauma patients (p<0.001) and decreased trauma bay time by 1.6 minutes. Communication interventions increased perceived safety ratings from 2.33 to 4.23 (p<0.0001) and family knowledge of care teams from 10% to 84%. Collaborative care models showed 15.5% higher survival rates than predicted (95% CI: 7.5-23.6%, p<0.001). Implementation costs averaged €203 per participant, with 73% of trained teams achieving successful performance benchmarks. Global disparities revealed 96% of surgical teams in low-resource settings lack NTS training despite equivalent demand.

NTS training produces measurable reductions in preventable mortality and medical errors while improving team efficiency and patient safety across diverse healthcare systems. Cost-effective implementation models exist, yet significant global training gaps persist, representing a critical opportunity for international trauma care improvement initiatives.