The Role of Nurses in Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management: A Review Study

Background: Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management (ACRM), adapted from aviation's Crew Resource Management, enhances patient safety in high-risk perioperative care by emphasizing non-technical competencies like communication and collaboration. Nurses, particularly perioperative nurses and certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs), are key members of multidisciplinary ACRM teams, yet their roles are underinvestigated. Aim: This review evaluates nurses' contributions to ACRM, focusing on patient surveillance and team coordination to reduce perioperative errors. Methods: A narrative synthesis of studies from 2015–2025, sourced from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, was conducted, reviewing historical trends, ACRM principles, role-specific effects, training, and future trends.Results: Nurses enhance situational awareness, identifying crises early and reducing response times by 20%. Simulation training, including virtual reality, improves team performance by 25–30%. Barriers include nursing workload constraints and hierarchical challenges in the operating room (OR). Conclusion: Nurses are central to ACRM, improving outcomes through vigilant monitoring and effective coordination. Standardized multidisciplinary protocols and AI tool integration in future research could address barriers.