title: Potential role for psychological skills training in emergency medicine: Part 1 - Introduction and background.
abstract: Psychological skills training (PST) is the systematic acquisition and practice of different psychological techniques to improve cognitive and technical performance. This training consists of three phases: education, skills acquisition and practice. Some of the psychological skills developed in this training include relaxation techniques, focusing and concentration skills, positive 'self-suggestion' and visualisation exercises. Since the middle of the 20th century, PST has been successfully applied by athletes, performing artists, business executives, military personnel and other professionals in high-risk occupations. Research in these areas has demonstrated the breadth and depth of the training's effectiveness. Despite the benefits realised in other professions, medicine has only recently begun to explore certain elements of PST. The present paper reviews the history and evidence behind the concept of PST. In addition, it presents some aspects of PST that have already been incorporated into medical training as well as implications for developing more comprehensive programmes to improve delivery of emergency medical care.
authors.affiliation: Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. michael.j.lauria.med@dartmouth.edu.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Lauria
authors.affiliation: United States Air Force Pararescue, 103 Rescue Squadron, Gabreski Air Base, Westhampton Beach, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rush
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Scott D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Weingart
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Brooks
authors.affiliation: Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Isabelle A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Gallo
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D011584:Psychology / Q000193:education*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012064:Relaxation Therapy; D065854:Spatial Navigation
keywords: emergency medicine; performance psychology; psychological skills training; resuscitation; stress performance