Look at Yourself First: Self-Assessment of Non-Technical Skills During a Simulated Anesthesia Crisis Situation

Abstract

Background: Non-technical skills are an essential element of training for healthcare professions. However, the effectiveness of training has been questioned as a result of poor ability of learners to self-evaluate their non-technical skills. Objective: The goal of this study was to evaluate the correlation between self-assessments and expert assessments of non-technical skills in student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) in a simulated crisis setting. Methods: Thirty-five SRNAs completed a non-technical skills workshop for anesthetists, and then participated in a crisis management simulation. A post-simulation self-assessment was performed immediately after the session. The simulation was recorded for expert assessment using the Anesthetists’ Non-Technical Skills framework. Results: The self-assessment test showed an acceptable level of internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.80, 0.71, 0.84, and 0.85 for task management, teamwork, situation awareness, and decision-making, respectively). We found weak to moderate and inverse relationships in terms of the agreement between self-assessments and experts (Pearson correlation coefficient = -0.14, -0.09, -0.28, -0.45, and -0.33, P=0.45, 0.54, 0.10, 0.01 and 0.05 for task management, teamwork, situation awareness, decision-making, and the total score, respectively). Conclusion: This study showed no correlation of the self-assessment and performance assessment from the experts.