Reflections on the Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) course
Held in connection with the EHS 2024 meeting in Prague, May 2024
By Dr Andrew de Beaux
Improving safety in hernia surgery is an ongoing activity of the European Hernia Society. The incidence of patient harm and sometimes death because of adverse events under medical care is about 10% among hospitalized patients worldwide. Half of these adverse events are avoidable. It is important to note that the most serious adverse events are often as the consequence of a non-technical skills failure. Technical surgical skills alone are insufficient to ensure optimal outcomes following surgery. This is why the EHS has embraced this discussion to improve safety in hernia surgery.
We are pleased to announce that the EHS is introducing a short video and discussion about NOTSS on many courses offered by our society, as a taster of what NOTSS is all about. The partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh will also continue and the NOTSS course will be offered again as pre-congress at #EHS2025Paris for those who wish to explore how non-technical skills affect intra-operative performance and more importantly, patient outcome.
The Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) Masterclass provides participants with a broad knowledge and practical experience of the non-technical skills that have been demonstrated to be essential for safe patient care. These include the cognitive and interpersonal aspects of operative surgery that are critical for optimizing individual and team performance in surgery. As one of the original creators of the NOTSS course often said, “NOTSS makes good surgeons better, and poor surgeons not so bad”.
Dr. Dana Sochorova from the Czech Republic, delegate at the EHS NOTSS Course in Prague 28 May 2024, states:
Every surgeon including hernia specialists aims to have a minimal complication rate. What if there is one single intervention by which you can achieve that – unrelated to the type of surgery, size of the hospital, or your team? What if the same intervention provides a safe, efficient work environment? I guess both surgeons as well as hospital managers would like to know what this hidden gem is.
The faculty of Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons (NOTSS) course, held on the 28th of May in Prague as part of the EHS conference in Prague, shared the secret – it is situational awareness, followed by leadership and understanding human factors, that play a significant role in our both personal and professional life. The masterclass, run by Professor S. Yule, Mr. S. Paterson-Brown, and Mr. A. Zanellato, introduced us to the concepts of very practical tools on how to get your team on board in emergency scenarios and also how to be more aware of our limitations due to cognitive overload, all demonstrated on simulated videos with participant´s discussion afterward.
If you also want to learn all the above, don´t hesitate to apply for the next NOTSS course, run by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. It will shape and later also your team in many useful and clinical practice-relevant aspects.
