Aberdeen scientists take flight deck skills to operating theatre
Communication, team working and decision-making between anaesthetists will be the subject of a two-year study by psychologists at the University of Aberdeen.
Professor Rhona Flin will head up a team of scientists and medics along with Dr Peter McGeorge, a cognitive psychologist also from the University, and Dr Ronnie Glavin, a consultant anaesthetist at the Victoria Infirmary in Glasgow, and Educational Co-Director at the Scottish Clinical Simulation Centre in Stirling.
The project will look at the non-clinical skills of experienced anaesthetists working in Scotland and how they work together in team situations, in terms of communication, leadership, situation awareness and decision-making. Much of the work will be based on research involving aircraft pilots, who also work in high-pressure, high-risk situations.
Studies carried out in simulators involving pilots and their cabin crews have been the subject of much interest over the past 25 years. As such, the study with anaesthetists will take place at the recently-opened Scottish Clinical Simulation Centre, a state-of-the-art facility designed for training health care professionals in real-life emergency clinical situations.
The Anaesthetic Simulator facility was established through a joint initiative involving the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education, and the four University Departments of Anaesthesia in Scotland.
Prof Flin, who is renowned for her work in the field of emergency response and safety, said this is the first project of its kind to be carried out in Scotland, though a lot of research has already been carried out in America and Switzerland.
“We will be spending the next two years interviewing anaesthetists and gathering information about how they cope with different situations,” she said.
“The new simulator will allow us to monitor them in real-life situations, allowing us to make recommendations as to how they can be more efficient in their work.”
Professor Nigel Webster is part of the University’s Anaesthesia and Intensive Care team, based in the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics.
“The situation for anaesthetists in operating theatres is fairly similar to that of airline pilots in that things can go disastrously wrong very quickly and which can ultimately result in the death of a person,” he said.
“In the airline world, Crew Resource Management as it is known, looks at how the various members of the flight crew work together and how to get the best from the team. This is what we hope to achieve with the Stirling simulator. It provides an excellent environment in which to train junior anaesthetists, particularly in rare procedures, without risk to real patients and as such we can look at how best to improve working practices.”
The £40,000 funding for the project has been awarded by the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education.
Further information:
Professor Rhona Flin, Department of Psychology (01224) 272341
Alison Ramsay, University Press Officer (01224) 273778