• Caroline Laura Stephanie Kilduff, Thomas Oliver Leith, Thomas M Drake, and FitzgeraldJ Edward FJEFClinical Advisor, Lifebox Foundation, London, UK.Department of Surgery, Royal Free Hospital NHS Trust, London, UK..
• Department of Ophthalmology, Western Eye Hospital, London, UK.
• Postgrad Med J. 2018 Mar 1; 94 (1109): 143-150.

IntroductionUse of the WHO surgical safety checklist is consistently recognised to reduce harm caused by human error during the perioperative period. Inconsistent engagement is considered to contribute to persistence of surgical Never Events in the National Health Service. Most medical and nursing graduates will join teams responsible for the perioperative care of patients, therefore appropriate undergraduate surgical safety training is needed.AimsTo investigate UK medical and nursing undergraduate experience of the surgical safety checklist training.MethodsAn eight-item electronic questionnaire was distributed electronically to 32 medical schools and 72 nursing schools. Analysis was conducted for the two cohorts, and responses from final year students were included.Results87/224 (38.8%) of medical students received teaching on the surgical safety checklist, compared with 380/711 (52.0%) of nursing students. 172/224 (76.8%) of medical students and 489/711 (66.9%) of nursing students understood its purpose and 8/224 (3.6%) medical students and 54/711 (7.4%) nursing students reported never being included in the Time Out. After adjusting for confounding factors, provision of formal teaching in checklist use increased understanding significantly (OR 50.39 (14.07 to 325.79, P<0.001)), as did routine student involvement in time outs (OR 5.72 (2.36 to 14.58, P<0.001)).DiscussionKnowledge of perioperative patient safety systems and the ability to participate in safety protocols are important skills that should be formally taught at the undergraduate level. Results of this study show that UK undergraduate surgical safety checklist training does not meet the minimum standards set by the WHO.© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

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