title: Evaluation of the prototype Anaesthetic Non-technical Skills for Anaesthetic Practitioners (ANTS-AP) system: a behavioural rating system to assess the non-technical skills used by staff assisting the anaesthetist.
abstract: This study tested the reliability, validity and usability of a prototype behavioural rating system for the non-technical skills of assistants working with the anaesthetist. Anaesthetic nurses and operating department practitioners (n = 48) used the prototype Anaesthetic Non-technical Skills for Anaesthetic Practitioners (ANTS-AP) system to rate the non-technical skills of anaesthetic assistants in 12 videos of simulated theatre work. Test-retest reliability was assessed with a sub-sample (n = 12). The skill categories assessed were 'situation awareness', 'teamwork and communication' and 'task management'. The internal consistency for the ratings of elements in categories was acceptable (Cronbach's α of 0.78, 0.77 and 0.69, respectively), with more modest inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlations for categories 0.54, 0.70, 0.86), test-retest reliability (intraclass correlations 0.68, 0.58, 0.38) and accuracy (weighted kappa 0.39). Most participants considered the system complete (n = 42, 87%), the wording clear (n = 48, 100%) and the system useful for structuring observation (n = 48, 100%).
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia, Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary, Dumfries, UK.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Rutherford
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Flin
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Irwin
authors.affiliation: AKM-STATS, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: McFadyen
mesh_terms: D000776:Anesthesiology / Q000592:standards*; D001519:Behavior; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012606:Scotland; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*