Role of Human Factors and Non-Technical Skills in Anaesthetic Nursing Practice: A Case Study

The role of the anaesthetic nurse specialist is about to change and the adaptation, consisting of many skills including educator, advisor, change agent and innovator. Expertise, knowledge and skills acquired, range not only from years of experience but now through a m ore formal educational specialist pathway at graduate level. The anaesthetic specialised role is to enhance patient outcomes and experience by delivering individually tailored care in the perioperative phase. The need to improve the quality of patient care and reform the NMS into an organisation fit for the future has been the focus of many debates in national government, but in the end, it all comes down to efficacy. Effectiveness, value for money and productivity are the drivers in the development of many new specialised roles, especially in the perioperative environment. Staff development and education is vital, nevertheless, in these current times of budget cuts and austerity measures continuing professional development can be sacrificed. Therefore as specialist practice nurses we must be innovative in finding ways in improving our practice and developing our knowledge and skills.