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Comparative Study
. 2018 Jul 3;18(1):509.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-018-3325-1.

A comparative study on the frequency of simulation-based training and assessment of non-technical skills in the Norwegian ground ambulance services and helicopter emergency medical services

Henrik Langdalen  1 , Eirik B Abrahamsen  2 , Stephen J M Sollid  3   4   5 , Leif Inge K Sørskår  2 , Håkon B Abrahamsen  2   5
Affiliations
Comparative Study

A comparative study on the frequency of simulation-based training and assessment of non-technical skills in the Norwegian ground ambulance services and helicopter emergency medical services

Henrik Langdalen et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: Inadequate non-technical skills (NTSs) among employees in the Norwegian prehospital emergency medical services (EMSs) are a risk for patient and operational safety. Simulation-based training and assessment is promising with respect to improving NTSs. The frequency of simulation-based training in and assessment of NTSs among crewmembers in the Norwegian helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) has gained increased attention over recent years, whereas there has been much less focus on the Norwegian ground emergency medical service (GEMS). The aim of the study was to compare and document the frequencies of simulation-based training in and assessment of seven NTSs between the Norwegian HEMS and GEMS, conditional on workplace and occupation.

Method: A comparative study of the results from cross-sectional questionnaires responded to by employees in the Norwegian prehospital EMSs in 2016 regarding training in and assessment of NTSs during 2015, with a focus on the Norwegian GEMS and HEMS. Professional groups of interest are: pilots, HEMS crew members (HCMs), physicians, paramedics, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), EMT apprentices, nurses and nurses with an EMT licence.

Results: The frequency of simulation-based training in and assessment of seven generic NTSs was statistically significantly greater for HEMS than for GEMS during 2015. Compared with pilots and HCMs, other health care providers in GEMS and HEMS undergo statistically significantly less frequent simulation-based training in and assessment of NTSs. Physicians working in the HEMS appear to be undergoing training and assessment more frequently than the rest of the health trust employees. The study indicates a tendency for lesser focus on the assessment of NTSs compared to simulation-based training.

Conclusion: HEMS has become superior to GEMS, in terms of frequency of training in and assessment of NTSs. The low frequency of training in and assessment of NTSs in GEMS suggests that there is a great potential to learn from HEMS and to strengthen the focus on NTSs. Increased frequency of assessment of NTSs in both HEMS and GEMS is called for.

Keywords: Ambulance; Assessment; Emergency medical service; Helicopter; Learning; Non-technical skills; Simulation-based training.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was conducted on the approval obtained from the Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD; project number 45723). The Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research West-Norway (REK West) evaluated this project as “not mandatory to submit” (Ref. number 2015/2249). All the participants received information about the purpose of the study, and written consent to participate was given at the start of the study, ensuring that no individual participants could be identified in published material. The digital questionnaires were treated in confidence.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Population map of the participants (number of respondents) in the survey and eligible population used for statistical analysis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Simulation-based training and assessment (dashed filling) of the seven generic NTSs within the GEMS and HEMS in 2015. All answers from each of the EMSs are dichotomized into no training/assessment or some training/assessment. Proportions of individuals are the relative frequencies (in %) within each EMS
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Simulation-based training and assessment (dashed filling) of the seven generic NTSs for employees of the flight operator and health trust. All answers from each of the EMSs are dichotomized into no training/assessment or some training/assessment. Proportions of individuals are the relative frequencies (in %) within each group
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Simulation-based training and assessment (dashed filling) of the seven generic NTSs within the GEMS 2015 and HEMS in 2011. All answers from each of the EMSs are dichotomized into no training/assessment or some training/assessment. Proportions of individuals are the relative frequencies (in %) within each EMS
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