Code Debriefing from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Team Training Program Improves the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Code Process

Clinical debriefing: A concept analysis

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this paper is to enhance nursing and collaborative practice by presenting a concept analysis of clinical debriefing and introducing an operational definition.

BACKGROUND

Debriefing has taken many forms, using a variety of approaches. Variations and inconsistencies in clinical debriefing, and its related terms, still exist in the clinical setting.

DESIGN

Concept analysis.

METHODS

Walker and Avant's eight-step approach to concept analysis.

RESULTS

The defining attributes of clinical debriefing identified in this analysis are described as the five E's: educated/experienced facilitator, environment, education, evaluation and emotions. Antecedents identified in this analysis include the critical event, the desire or need to review such an event and the organizational awareness to execute clinical debriefs. The consequences of clinical debriefings are primarily advantageous and positively impact involved nurses, healthcare teams, patients and organizations. Empirical referents of clinical debriefing are complex and multifactorial. The productivity of a clinical debrief can be enhanced through a series of proposed questions. Together, the defining attributes, antecedents and consequences shape a proposed operational definition of clinical debriefing.

CONCLUSION

Clinical debriefing is a valuable tool within healthcare organizations. Debriefing can be a holistic, interprofessional, collaborative experience when all five defining attributes are present. Further investigation is required to standardise debriefing practices in clinical settings.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

A concept analysis on clinical debriefing promotes uniformity of debriefing practices, reflective practice among nurses and healthcare teams, and contributes to nursing science by creating a platform for the development of practice standards, research and theory development.

Debriefing in pediatrics

Debriefing is a conversational session that revolves around the sharing and examining of information after a specific event has taken place. Debriefing may follow a simulated or actual experience and provides a forum for the learners to reflect on the experience and learn from their mistakes. Originating from the military and aviation industry, it is used on a daily basis to reflect and improve the performance in other high-risk industries. Expert debriefers may facilitate the reflection by asking open-ended questions to probe into the framework of the learners and apply lessons learned to future situations. Debriefing has been proven to improve clinical outcomes such as the return of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest and the teaching of teamwork and communication in pediatrics. Incorporating debriefing into clinical practice would facilitate the cultural change necessary to talk more openly about team performance and learn from near misses, errors, and successes that will improve not only clinical outcome but also patient safety.

Debriefing after resuscitation

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Evidence of suboptimal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) delivery in practice has driven interest in strategies to improve CPR quality. Early data suggest that debriefing may be an effective strategy. In this review, we analyse types of debriefing and the evidence to support their usage.

RECENT FINDINGS

There is a general lack of standardization in terminology and methods used for debriefing that limits evaluation. Debriefing interventions generally take two different formats. Hot debriefing is one where individuals or teams are provided with debriefing immediately after the event. Although perhaps the most widely used and easiest to implement, research evidence for its effectiveness is scant. Cold debriefing, where individuals or teams are provided with feedback sometime after the event, is associated with improvements in process and patient outcomes. Such feedback usually involves the use of objective performance data, such as defibrillator downloads or videotape records. Before and after cohort studies have found that both verbal debriefing in groups and individual written feedback seem to be associated with an improvement in performance.

SUMMARY

Debriefing is a useful strategy to improve resuscitation performance, but the optimal delivery method remains unclear. Future high-quality research is required to identify the most effective form of debriefing.