Non-technical skills in health: why training in human factors has become essential
Introduction: technical skills are no longer sufficient
In France, every year, thousands of adverse events associated with care (AEACs) occur in healthcare facilities. Analyses of these incidents reveal a reality that is often overlooked: the vast majority of these events are not caused by technical failures, but by communication breakdowns, errors in judgment, poor situational awareness, or even stress and fatigue among healthcare professionals.
This observation led the French National Authority for Health (HAS), in partnership with the Human Factors in Healthcare (FHS) association, to publish in April 2026 a framework of non-technical skills (NTS) — a structuring document that redefines the foundations of healthcare training.
What are non-technical skills (NTS)?
Non-technical skills refer to all the cognitive, social, and personal resources that complement technical skills and contribute directly to safety and performance in healthcare. They are structured around three main categories:
1. Cognitive Skills
- Situational Awareness: perceiving, understanding, and anticipating clinical and environmental changes
- Decision Making: analyzing available options to act appropriately in the face of uncertainty
- Workload Management: prioritizing, planning, and adapting to unforeseen events
2. Interpersonal Skills
- Effective Communication: making oneself understood unambiguously by all team members and the patient
- Teamwork and Coordination: cooperation, mutual trust, and support
- Leadership: guidance, empowerment, and conflict management
3. Personal Skills
- Stress Management: Maintaining effectiveness under pressure
- Fatigue Management: Recognizing one's own signs of fatigue and implementing appropriate strategies
These skills are not added to existing professional standards—they are essential cross-cutting dimensions, often implicit yet crucial.
Why Training in Human Factors is a Public Health Priority
The American report To Err is Human (1999) revealed that more than 70% of serious medical errors are attributable to non-technical human failures. Decades of research in aeronautics, the nuclear industry, and maritime transport have shown that investing in soft skills sustainably transforms the safety culture of organizations. The HAS/FHS standard clearly confirms this: A technically competent but poorly coordinated team is at greater risk than a technically competent team trained in non-technical skills. The documented benefits of human factors training are numerous: Reduction of avoidable adverse events through better early detection of risky situations; Improved coordination of multidisciplinary teams; Enhanced well-being at work and prevention of burnout; Development of a sustainable safety culture based on reporting, feedback, and collective learning. The Genesis of Non-Technical Skills From Aeronautics to Healthcare
The history of soft skills begins in cockpits. The 1977 Tenerife air disaster—the deadliest in civil aviation history—was not due to a technical failure, but to communication and coordination problems between crews. This realization led to the development of Crew Resource Management (CRM) training in the 1980s.
This model was then transposed to the medical field, first in anesthesia and intensive care with Anaesthesia Crisis Resource Management (ACRM), and then gradually to all healthcare professions. Today, it is the organizational and human factors (OHF) that provide the systemic framework within which CNTs are situated: the human is no longer the weak link, but a key player in safety and performance.
Frédéric Martin, founder of the SafeTeam Academy and founding member of the Human Factors in Healthcare group
The Human Factors in Healthcare group was created by a collective of healthcare professionals, ergonomists, and sociologists following the first meeting on September 21, 2017!
This group was initially called the Interest Group on Human Functioning in Medicine. It was composed of Thomas Lopes, Frédéric Martin, Christian Morel, Claude Valot, Pierre Raynal, Daphné Michelet, Laurence Piquard, Veronique Normier, Ludovic Mieusset, Sébastien Follet, Julien Picard, Olivier Bory, Rodolphe Lelaidier, François Jaulin, Tobias Gauss, and Thomas Baugnon. The Human Factors in Health (HFH) group co-led, with the HAS (French National Authority for Health), the drafting of this national framework, bringing together physicians, nurses, ergonomists, healthcare managers, patient representatives, and trainers around a shared conviction: non-technical skills are learned, maintained, and assessed. How to train in non-technical skills? The SafeTeam Academy Approach
Faced with this training challenge, SafeTeam Academy offers programs specifically designed for healthcare professionals, based on best practices validated by international literature and aligned with the HAS (French National Authority for Health) framework.
Training that follows the recommended instructional design model
The HAS framework recommends a specific model: active and experiential teaching methods, centered on real-world practice. SafeTeam Academy addresses this with programs based on:
- Healthcare simulation (on-site or in a simulation center) to place teams in realistic and safe situations
- Structured briefing and debriefing to reinforce learning and promote reflection
- Health CRM sessions (Crew Resource Management adapted to the medical environment)
- Case studies and lessons learned (RETEX) from situations experienced by teams
- Multidisciplinary team modules, fostering mutual understanding of professional cultures
The 13 key skills of the framework covered
In accordance with the HAS framework, SafeTeam Academy training courses cover all 13 identified themes:
- Organizational and human factors
- Leadership & teamwork
- Safety culture
- Self-awareness
- Neuroscience and performance
- Effective communication
- Fatigue and fatigue management
- Workload management
- Stress and stress management
- Situational awareness
- Characteristics of an effective team
- Decision making
- The patient's place in the team
Initial and continuing training: a pedagogical continuum
The framework emphasizes the spiral progression of learning: the same skills are worked on repeatedly, in increasingly complex situations. SafeTeam Academy offers training paths tailored to each stage:
- Awareness training for teams starting the process
- In-depth CRM Healthcare programs for teams wishing to go further
- Train-the-trainer programs to amplify the internal impact
- Customized support for institutions wishing to integrate Human Factors Training (HFT) into their quality improvement process
The concrete impact of human factors training
Training with SafeTeam Academy means investing in measurable results:
For healthcare teams
- Better management of critical situations and emergencies
- Fluider communication, fewer dangerous ambiguities
- Increased awareness of early warning signs and emerging risks
- Reduced feelings of isolation and strengthened solidarity Team
For healthcare facilities
- Reduction in preventable adverse events
- Improvement in quality indicators and HAS certification results
- Strengthening of a measurable safety culture (SAPS surveys, etc.)
- Better staff retention through improved working conditions
For patients
- Safer, better coordinated care
- Greater patient involvement in the care team
- Reduction in complications related to communication errors
SafeTeam Academy supports you in this transformation with practical, scientifically sound training directly applicable to your practice.
