title: 'Pass the buzzy thing, please.' Recognising and understanding information: an essential non-technical skill element for the efficient scrub practitioner.
abstract: Adverse events are unintended injuries or complications that are caused by the management of a patient's care rather than by their underlying medical condition. Research into adverse events in hospitals has demonstrated that the operating theatre is one area of healthcare where there is room for improvement, with 41% of all adverse events occurring in the operating theatre, according to one systematic review (deVries et al 2008). Despite technical guidelines, there are still instances of sponges and instruments being retained within patients (Gawande et al 2003) and the factors contributing to this may include assertiveness issues and communication between perioperative and medical staff, i.e. non-technical skills.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3FX. l.mitchell@abdn.ac.uk
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mitchell
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000379:methods*; D008370:Manuals as Topic; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009871:Operating Room Nursing / Q000193:education*; D012606:Scotland; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000451:nursing*; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis