Background

Revised NOTECHS (Non-technical skills) is a psychometrically robust (i.e. reliable and valid) tool that captures comprehensively non-technical skills of individual healthcare operators within operating theatres – including surgeons, anaesthetists, operating theatre nurses and operating department practitioners (called ‘anaesthetic nurses, or technicians’ in some settings).

NOTECHs was originally developed for use within the context of commercial aviation in 1998. Our research team has adapted the original version of the scale to suit the needs of operating theatre teams. The Revised NOTECHs is particularly applicable to simulation-based team and crisis management training modules (i.e. CRM-styled training), which we have developed and validate both for individual surgeons as well for entire operating theatre teams.

Downloads

• Revised NOTECHS ODP (PDF)
• Revised NOTECHS Anaesthetist (PDF)
• Revised NOTECHS Scrub Nurse (PDF)
• Revised NOTECHS Surgeon (PDF)

Selected bibliography

Sevdalis N, Davis RE, Koutantji M, Undre S, Darzi A, Vincent CA. Reliability of a revised NOTECHS scale for use in surgical teams. American Journal of Surgery 2008;196:184-90. Pubmed

Undre S, Koutantji M, Sevdalis N, Selvapatt N, Williams S, Gautama S, McCulloch P, Darzi A, Vincent CA. Multi-disciplinary crisis simulations: The way forward for training surgical teams. World Journal of Surgery 2007;31:1843-53. Pubmed

van Avermaete JAG, Kruijsen E. The evaluation of non-technical skills of multi-pilot aircrew in relation to the JAR-FCL requirements (Project rep.: CR-98443). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: NLR; 1998.

Contact

For further information on Revised NOTECHS please contact Nick Sevdalis