ABSTRACTS
Desirable Nontechnical Skills for Paramedics in Japan: A Delphi StudyAuthor: Koshi, Brett Williams, Ryu Kimura, Hinata Kijima, Shota Tanaka, Tsutomu Komine, and Hideharu Tanaka | | Associate Authors:
Introduction: Serious medical accidents are often caused by nontechnical skills (NTS). In the United States, NTS is one of the most important skills for emergency medical technicians (EMTs), but until now, these perspectives have not been emphasized by Japanese paramedics. Objective: To gather opinions on what NTSs are considered important to paramedics in Japan. Method: A modified Delphi technique was employed. We included 10 medical directors familiar with EMT activities and 10 paramedics with at least 6 years of work experience who hold leadership positions. Participants were asked to rate each NTS in an online questionnaire on a 10-point Likert scale. To reach consensus, 80% of participants had to rate NTS within 2 Likert-scale points of the mode score. Three rounds of Delphi study were conducted. Result: Thirty-nine NTSs were ranked, with 36 reaching consensus (Table 1). The top five NTSs were Teamwork, Communication, Interpersonal Skills, Scene Management, and Professionalism. Three NTSs did not reach consensus: Cultural Safety, Assertive, and Freshness. Conclusion: We have created a list of important NTSs for paramedics in Japan that could form the basis for future paramedic education. If the NTSs of paramedics improve, this will improve the quality of emergency medical services, which in result would save more patients' lives.
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