What do you think?
Did I hear you say qualifications, surgical skills, latest equipments, experience etc.?
Well, while these technical skills are very important, it turns out that they alone are not enough to deliver a modern, safe surgery.
A recent study published in a reputed British journal called Annals of Medicine and Surgery says that non-technical skills are as important as technical skills.
Soft skills such as communication, decision making, teamwork, leadership, ability to deal with stress etc. are observed in this study as important skills needed for a good surgeon.
Surprised? Let’s see why.
Increased spending on technical training, facilities, and equipments alone does not lead to improvements in surgical results.
For instance, the US spends more than double that of France or the UK on health per capita and as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product. Yet, the US performs worse in mortality amenable to health care compared to the other two countries.
Why is it so?
No doubt that technical skills tend to improve with experience and this is evidenced by the volume-outcome relationship in much of surgery, especially in complex operations like key hole surgeries. long term outcome gets better with higher workload and experience of the operating surgeon as reported by some publications.
However, when unlikely complications arise during or after surgery; soft skills such as communication, teamwork and ability to stay calm under stress are observed to help surgeons more than their technical skills.
Skilled surgeons who are also strong in soft skills are able to think calmly, mobilize different teams in the OT and hospital, and issue clear instructions at all times which leads to far better outcomes in long term.
How will this knowledge help you?
Next time when you meet your Doctor or me for consultation or scheduling a surgery, check a few more things along with our degrees, experience, and decor of the hospital.
What you also need to check is: Were we patient with you? Did we listen well? Did we explained all treatment options? How did we treat our assistants? Did we shout at them or were we polite?
These observations will indicate enough to you about your Doctor’s soft skills.
Until then
Take Care
