JAMA article highlights recommendations from National Surgical Patient Safety Summit.
With up to 50 percent of adverse events occurring among surgical patients, non–technical skills – emotional intelligence, mindfulness, adaptability and resourcefulness – are critical traits for surgeon health team leaders to prevent adverse events, according to a “viewpoint” article appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Surgery.

“Safety for the Surgical Patient – What Will ‘Move the Needle?’” recaps the recommendations of the first National Surgical Patient Safety Summit (NSPSS). The two–day event, co–hosted by the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, included more than 100 representatives from medical professional associations, insurers, health care systems, payers, and government agencies. The American Society of Anesthesiology and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses are new partners. The goal of the event, held August 4–5, 2016, was to develop surgical care and education curricula standards, and to prioritize safety research efforts.

“Safety is an emergent property of competent care, a product of the resilience and adaptability of teams of professionals versed in human factors, safety science and team work,” according to the article authors, Dwight W. Burney III, MD, a member of the AAOS Patient Safety Committee, and David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons. “The need for enlightened leadership of safe surgical teams has never been greater,” the authors said.

At NSPSS, workgroups, including surgeons, anesthesiologists, and nurses, drafted recommendations for all surgical team members, surgical institutions, medical and nursing schools, surgical residency and fellowship programs, and surgical credentialing organizations. The recommendations, outlined in the JAMA article, include the creation and adoption of standardized:

• Definitions and patient–centered processes used by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Programs to ensure individual wellness for surgical caregivers of all professions to ensure personal and team resilience and adaptability
• Databases related to surgical adverse events
• Education in the non–technical skills of leadership, communication, and teamwork, especially in evaluations required for graduation, completing a residency, board certification, and the licensing and granting of surgical privileges

These recommendations will be used to finalize National Surgical Patient Safety Standards, develop surgical safety education curriculum proposals, and to identify surgical safety knowledge gaps and research priorities.