Crisis management

''Crisis Management" (CM)

Crisis Management Training focuses on cognitive and non-technical skills relevant to high performance. The objective of this is to explore the psychological, interpersonal and environmental factors which influence patient care - particularly during conditions which are unexpected, life threatening and involve time pressure.

While a variety of educational techniques are commonly used in combination (including games, video discussion and table-top exercises) training is typically centred on "immersive scenarios” using scenarios and environments that are typical of the learners’ workplace. For example, an operating theatre for anaesthetists, a dental surgery for dentists, and a mobile army medical unit for defense forces personnel.

"Crisis Resource Management (CRM)"

– is a particular educational doctrine focusing on key non-technical skills considered essential for high performance during an emergency. It has been derived from the aviation industry (Crew Resource Management (CRM)) and introduced to the health sector via the doctrine of David Gaba in Anaesthesia Crisis Resource Management (ACRM). There are seven key behaviours:

• Know your environment
• Prepare and plan
• Call for help early
• Take a leadership role
• Allocate attention wisely and use all available resources
• Prioritise and distribute the workload
• Communicate effectively

Emergency Team Training

This is a variant of CRM methodology developed within the SCSSC, suitable for a range of teams including trauma teams, paediatric emergency teams, Emergency Medicine teams, teams managing the acutely deteriorating patient. Two educational frameworks are used:

• A structured clinical approach adapted to each discipline
• The seven team tasks approach, a task focused approach presented from the point of view of the emergency team.