A Prospective Study to Assess the Relationship Between Nontechnical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) and Patient Outcomes

Abstract

Background: Effective technical and nontechnical skills are necessary for surgeons to provide optimal patient care. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between Nontechnical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) and postoperative outcomes among general surgery patients.

Method: This prospective observational study was conducted at a single, large, urban, academic hospital in the USA from February to September 2022. Two raters (an observer and a nurse) assessed each participating surgeon during 3 to 5 different operations. Patient outcome data were collected from the Illinois Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative (ISQIC) database. We used the American College of Surgeons National Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) method to calculate risk-adjusted complications. Robust linear regression models were used to assess the association between surgeons' nontechnical skills and risk-adjusted postoperative complications.

Results: Of the 45 surgeons who were observed in the study, 25 (55.5%) had patient outcome data captured by the ISQIC database. The adjusted analysis found that for every unit increase in the NOTSS score, there was a significant 5.1 (95% CI: -8.1; -2.0,p = 0.003), decrease in the adjusted risk of any postoperative complication, a significant 1.1 (95% CI: -1.8; -0.2, p = 0.01) decrease in the adjusted risk of mortality, and significant 1.1 (95% CI: -1.9; -0.4, p = 0.005) decrease in adjusted risks of returning to the operating room.

Conclusion: Higher surgeons' nontechnical skills scores were associated with a decreased risk-adjusted rate of any postoperative complication, mortality, and return to the operating room. Strategies to improve postoperative patient outcomes should include the improvement of surgeons' nontechnical skills.

Keywords: Nontechnical skills; healthcare”; intraoperative complications; patient safety; postoperative complications; treatment outcome; “crew resource management.