Objective: To evaluate the impact of a single day Crisis Resource Management (CRM) oriented team training, combining didactic and simulation sessions, on work satisfaction of the healthcare staff working in an Emergency Department.
Methods: Seventy health professionals with different qualifications, working in an emergency department, were enrolled in the study. After enrollment, participants were asked to complete a work satisfaction questionnaire and to choose a day for the training session according to their availability. Each training session took place in the simulation center and consisted of several elements: didactic session and simulation session, followed by instructor facilitated debriefing. The lecture was focused on medical errors and CRM principles. Two months after, they were asked to complete again the work satisfaction questionnaire.
Results: There were no significant improvements on the items evaluated through the work satisfaction questionnaire for none of the professional categories involved, except for ‘the possibility to refer the patient to a specialist whenever was considered necessary’ for the doctors. Improvements were seen for the same professional category on the following items: workload, leisure time, level of stress at work, time and energy spent on administrative tasks.
Conclusions: The findings of this study do not support the effectiveness of a single day CRM training as a tool to improve the work satisfaction among medical staff in ED. Further research is necessary.