Barriers and enablers to effective interprofessional teamwork in the operating room: A qualitative study using the Theoretical Domains Framework

The way towards ethical anesthesia care: no aim - no game - no fame or blame?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review explores the intricacies of ethical anesthesia, exploring the necessity for precision anesthesia and its impact on patient-reported outcomes. The primary objective is to advocate for a defined aim, promoting the implementation of rules and feedback systems. The ultimate goal is to enhance precision anesthesia care, ensuring patient safety through the implementation of a teamwork and the integration of feedback mechanisms.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent strategies in the field of anesthesia have evolved from intraoperative monitorization to a wider perioperative patient-centered precision care. Nonetheless, implementing this approach encounters significant obstacles. The article explores the evidence supporting the need for a defined aim and applicable rules for precision anesthesia's effectiveness. The implementation of the safety culture is underlined. The review delves into the teamwork description with structured feedback systems.

SUMMARY

Anesthesia is a multifaceted discipline that involves various stakeholders. The primary focus is delivering personalized precision care. This review underscores the importance of establishing clear aims, defined rules, and fostering effective and well tolerated teamwork with accurate feedback for improving patient-reported outcomes. The Safe Brain Initiative approach, emphasizing algorithmic monitoring and systematic follow-up, is crucial in implementing a fundamental and standardized reporting approach within patient-centered anesthesia care practice.

There's No "I" in "Team": Recommendations for Effective Teamwork and Communication in IONM

Effective teamwork is essential in almost every job, and can even mean life, death, or disability in some jobs. Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) is a career in which effective teamwork and accurate communication are of utmost importance, yet it comes with a unique set of challenges in which to achieve those goals. Operating rooms can be very stressful environments, even if a surgical neurophysiologist (SNP) works in the same hospital every day. Often an SNP is required to travel from hospital to hospital and work with different teams each day. In addition, communication with the IONM oversight professional (IONM-P) can be challenging by nature of the telemedicine model which is becoming the most commonly applied IONM model in the United States. It is unfortunate that such critical skills are assumed and are rarely formally trained. In this article, we present evidence-based recommendations for establishing effective team function. We also provide several tools designed to help create effective and efficient teams. Teams cannot function at their best without outstanding communication, so improving teamwork also means improving communication. This article also provides several techniques for excellent communication, regardless of the situation or context.

Perceptions and behaviors of healthcare providers towards rehabilitation support to children with severe malaria-related disability in Ethiopia: A qualitative descriptive study using the Theoretical Domains Framework

INTRODUCTION

Severe malaria often results in childhood disability. The prevalence of disability related to severe malaria is significant and is estimated to affect up to 53% of severe malaria survivors. In contrast, information is sparse about how healthcare providers in Africa think about or provide rehabilitation support in acute and post-acute phases respectively. Understanding the perceptions and behaviors of healthcare providers treating malaria could help inform malaria-related disability research, policy, and practice, aimed at the providers themselves. This study explored the perceptions and behaviors of healthcare providers towards rehabilitation for children with severe malaria-related disability. The Theoretical Domains Framework was used to describe the findings relative to wider literature on health provider behavior change.

METHODS

A qualitative descriptive approach was used to interview thirteen healthcare providers recruited purposively based on their clinical professions, roles, and settings. Data were analyzed using directed content analysis. We decided on the most prominent theoretical domains considering the frequency of specific perceptions and behaviors across the participants, the frequency of perceptions and behaviors in each domain, and evidence of strong perceptions and behaviors.

RESULTS

Nine out of fourteen theoretical domains were identified. These domains were: Beliefs about consequences, environmental context and resources, goals, knowledge, skills, optimism, reinforcement, social influences, and social or professional role and identity. Healthcare providers' beliefs about their roles in screening for disability or referring to rehabilitation were less positive.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study suggest the need for interventions to support healthcare providers in acute phases (prevention and control of severe malaria) and post-acute phases (disability screening, referral, and rehabilitation care). Recommended interventions should focus on developing clinical guidelines, training clinicians, addressing institutional factors, and modifying external social influences such as socio-cultural factors.

Enhancing interprofessional teamwork between youth care professionals using an electronic health record; a mixed methods intervention study

We aimed to investigate whether using a shared electronic patient record (EPR-Youth) strengthened interprofessional teamwork among professionals in youth care and child healthcare. Using a mixed-methods design, we compared two partly overlapping samples of professionals, who completed questionnaires before the introduction of EPR-Youth (n = 117) and 24 months thereafter (n = 127). Five components of interprofessional teamwork (interdependence, newly created professional activities, flexibility, collective ownership of goals, and reflection on processes) were assessed for this study. Midway through the study period, focus groups were held with 12 professionals to examine how EPR-Youth contributed to interprofessional teamwork. Professionals reported significantly more flexibility after the introduction of EPR-Youth than before. Professionals scored slightly -but not significantly- more positively on the other components of teamwork. Focus group participants reported that using EPR-Youth strengthened their sense of interdependence and collective ownership of goals, and contributed to newly created professional activities. At baseline, levels of interprofessional teamwork differed between organizations. Focus group participants confirmed these differences and attributed them to differences in facilitation of interprofessional teamwork. Our findings suggest that using EPR-Youth can foster interprofessional teamwork. Organizational differences underline that implementing an EPR alone is inadequate: shared definitions of teamwork and organizational facilities are needed to strengthen interprofessional teamwork.

Optimizing Teamwork in the Operating Room: A Scoping Review of Actionable Teamwork Strategies

Suboptimal teamwork in the operating room (OR) is a contributing factor in a significant proportion of preventable complications for surgical patients. Specifying behaviour is fundamental to closing evidence-practice gaps in healthcare. Current teamwork interventions, however, have yet to be synthesized in this way. This scoping review aimed to identify actionable strategies for use during surgery by mapping the existing literature according to the Action, Actor, Context, Target, Time (AACTT) framework. The databases MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), Embase, Cumulated Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Cochrane, Scopus, and PsycINFO were searched from inception to April 5, 2022. Screening and data extraction were conducted in duplicate by pairs of independent reviewers. The search identified 9,289 references after the removal of duplicates. Across 249 studies deemed eligible for inclusion, eight types of teamwork interventions could be mapped according to the AACTT framework: bundle/checklists, protocols, audit and feedback, clinical practice guidelines, environmental change, cognitive aid, education, and other), yet many were ambiguous regarding the actors and actions involved. The 101 included protocol interventions appeared to be among the most actionable for the OR based on the clear specification of ACCTT elements, and their effectiveness should be evaluated and compared in future work.

Association Between Surgeon/Anesthesiologist Sex Discordance and 1-year Mortality Among Adults Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery: A Population-based Retrospective Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between surgeon-anesthesiologist sex discordance and patient mortality after noncardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND

Evidence suggests different practice patterns exist among female and male physicians. However, the influence of physician sex on team-based practices in the operating room and subsequent patient outcomes remains unclear in the context of noncardiac surgery.

METHODS

We conducted a population-based, retrospective cohort study of adult Ontario residents who underwent index, inpatient noncardiac surgery between January 2007 and December 2017. The primary exposure was physician sex discordance (ie, the surgeon and anesthesiologist were of the opposite sex). The primary outcome was 1-year mortality. The association between physician sex discordance and patient outcomes was modeled using multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression with adjustment for relevant physician, patient, and hospital characteristics.

RESULTS

Of 541,209 patients, 158,084 (29.2%) were treated by sex-discordant physician teams. Physician sex discordance was associated with a lower rate of mortality at 1 year [5.2% vs. 5.7%; adjusted HR: 0.95 (0.91-0.99)]. Patients treated by teams composed of female surgeons and male anesthesiologists were more likely to be alive at 1 year than those treated by all-male physician teams [adjusted HR: 0.90 (0.81-0.99)].

CONCLUSIONS

Noncardiac surgery patients had a lower likelihood of 1-year mortality when treated by sex-discordant surgeon-anesthesiologist teams. The likelihood of mortality was further reduced if the surgeon was female. Further research is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms of these observations and design strategies to diversify operating room teams to optimize performance and patient outcomes.

Boosting teamwork between scrub nurses and neurosurgeons: exploring the value of a role-played hands-on, cadaver-free simulation and systematic review of the literature

Background

Recently, non-technical skills (NTS) and teamwork in particular have been demonstrated to be essential in many jobs, in business as well as in medical specialties, including plastic, orthopedic, and general surgery. However, NTS and teamwork in neurosurgery have not yet been fully studied. We reviewed the relevant literature and designed a mock surgery to be used as a team-building activity specifically designed for scrub nurses and neurosurgeons.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review by searching PubMed (Medline) and CINAHL, including relevant articles in English published until 15 July 2023. Then, we proposed a pilot study consisting of a single-session, hands-on, and cadaver-free activity, based on role play. Scrub nurses were administered the SPLINTS (Scrub Practitioners' List of Intraoperative Non-Technical Skills) rating form as a self-evaluation at baseline and 20-30 days after the simulation. During the experiment, surgeons and scrub nurses role-played as each other, doing exercises including a simulated glioma resection surgery performed on an advanced model of a cerebral tumor (Tumor Box, UpSurgeOn®) under an exoscope. At the end, every participant completed an evaluation questionnaire.

Results

A limited number of articles are available on the topic. This study reports one of the first neurosurgical team-building activities in the literature. All the participating scrub nurses and neurosurgeons positively evaluated the simulation developed on a roleplay. The use of a physical simulator seems an added value, as the tactile feedback given by the model further helps to understand the actual surgical job, more than only observing and assisting. The SPLINTS showed a statistically significant improvement not only in "Communication and Teamwork" (p = 0.048) but also in "Situation Awareness" (p = 0.031).

Conclusion

Our study suggests that team-building activities may play a role in improving interprofessional teamwork and other NTS in neurosurgery.

Certified Registered Nurse Anaesthetists' and Critical Care Registered Nurses' perception of knowledge/power in teamwork with Anaesthesiologists in Sweden: a mixed-method study

Efficient teamwork is crucial to provide optimal health care. This paper focuses on teamwork between Anaesthesiologists (ANES), Certified Registered Nurse Anaesthetists' (CRNA) and Critical Care Registered Nurses (CCRN) working in challenging environments such as the intensive care unit (ICU) and the operating room (OR). Conflicts are common between physicians and nurses, negatively impacting teamwork. Social hierarchies based on professional status and power inequalities between nurses and physicians plays a vital role in influencing teamwork. Foucault was a famous thinker especially known for his reasoning regarding power/knowledge. A Foucauldian perspective was therefore incorporated into this paper and the overall aim was to explore CCRN/CRNA perception of knowledge/power in teamwork with ANES.Methods A mixed-method approach was applied in this study. Data was collected using a web-based questionnaire containing both closed-end and open-ended questions. A total of 289 CCRNs and CRNAs completed the questionnaire. Data analysis was then conducted through five stages as outlined by Onwuebugzie and Teddlie; analysing quantitative data in SPSS 27.0 and qualitative data with a directed content analysis, finally merging data together in ATLAS.ti v.23.Results The result reveals a dissonance between quantitative and qualitative data; quantitative data indicates a well-functioning interdisciplinary teamwork between CCRN/CRNA and ANES - qualitative data highlights that there are several barriers and inequalities between the two groups. Medicine was perceived as superior to nursing, which was reinforced by both social and organisational structures at the ICU and OR.Conclusion Unconscious rules underlying current power structures in the ICU and OR works in favour of the ANES and biomedical paradigm, supporting medical knowledge. To achieve a more equal power distribution between CCRN/CRNAs and ANES, the structural hierarchies between nursing and medicine needs to be addressed. A more equal power balance between the two disciplines can improve teamwork and thereby reduce patient mortality and improve patient outcomes.

Do hospital-based emergency Medicaid programs benefit trauma centers? A mixed-methods analysis

INTRODUCTION

Hospital Presumptive Eligibility (HPE) is a temporary Medicaid insurance at hospitalization, which can offset patient costs of care, increase access to postdischarge resources, and provide a path to sustain coverage through Medicaid. Less is known about the implications of HPE programs on trauma centers (TCs). We aimed to describe the association with HPE and hospital Medicaid reimbursement and characterize incentives for HPE participation among hospitals and TCs. We hypothesized that there would be financial, operational, and mission-based incentives.

METHODS

We performed a convergent mixed methods study of HPE hospitals in California (including all verified TCs). We analyzed Annual Financial Disclosure Reports from California's Department of Health Care Access and Information (2005-2021). Our primary outcome was Medicaid net revenue. We also conducted thematic analysis of semistructured interviews with hospital stakeholders to understand incentives for HPE participation (n = 8).

RESULTS

Among 367 California hospitals analyzed, 285 (77.7%) participate in HPE, 77 (21%) of which are TCs. As of early 2015, 100% of TCs had elected to enroll in HPE. There is a significant positive association between HPE participation and net Medicaid revenue. The highest Medicaid revenues are in HPE level I and level II TCs. Controlling for changes associated with the Affordable Care Act, HPE enrollment is associated with increased net patient Medicaid revenue ( b = 6.74, p < 0.001) and decreased uncompensated care costs ( b = -2.22, p < 0.05). Stakeholder interviewees' explanatory incentives for HPE participation included reduction of hospital bad debt, improved patient satisfaction, and community benefit in access to care.

CONCLUSION

Hospital Presumptive Eligibility programs not only are a promising pathway for long-term insurance coverage for trauma patients but also play a role in TC viability. Future interventions will target streamlining the HPE Medicaid enrollment process to reduce resource burden on participating hospitals and ensure ongoing patient engagement in the program.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Economic And Value Based Evaluations; Level II.

Interventions to facilitate interprofessional collaboration in the operating theatre: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Ineffective collaboration can increase adverse events in the operating theatre. When professionals work collaboratively, they are more likely to improve patient safety and outcomes.

AIM

To identify interprofessional collaboration interventions involving operating theatre teams and describe their effect on facilitating communication, teamwork, and safety.

METHODS

A scoping review of four databases. Results were analysed by identifying interventions and mapping their related outcomes.

RESULTS

Twenty studies evaluated single or multi-faceted interventions. Despite low-quality study designs (no randomised controlled trials), four interventions (eg: briefings, checklists, team training, debriefing) improved communication and teamwork, and enhanced safety outcomes. Only one study, using team training, reported that organisational level interventions (eg: Standard Operating Procedures, Lean quality improvement management system) improved teamwork and safety outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Several studies reported interventions enhanced interprofessional collaboration within operating theatre teams. Although findings were in favour of improved communication and teamwork, more rigorous research is required.

Factors influencing teamwork in healthcare applicable to interventional and diagnostic radiology

Teamwork in healthcare has been analysed extensively in the literature, mainly in acute healthcare settings such as the operating room, emergency room, and intensive care unit, with limited evidence related to diagnostic and interventional radiology. Multiple factors that affect teamwork in different domains have been described, such as communication, hierarchy, and distractions. Teamwork is an important patient safety, job satisfaction and patient outcome determinant, with interprofessional and interdisciplinary healthcare education playing a relevant role in the different domains affecting team performance. The aim of this article is to review the literature to describe domains and specific factors that influence teamwork in diagnostic and interventional radiology practice. This is of particular interest for radiologist involved in quality improvement and/or patient safety initiatives development and implementation. The review will conclude with a summary table highlighting the most important factors that, according to the authors, appear relevant to the radiology practice.

Effectiveness of interprofessional teamwork interventions for improving occupational well-being among perioperative healthcare providers: a systematic review

The occupational well-being of healthcare providers is crucial for safe and effective patient care, especially in the complex, high acuity operating room (OR) setting. There has been a recent proliferation of interventions to improve teamwork in the OR setting, but the impact of these interventions on clinician occupational well-being has yet to be systematically assessed. This systematic review aimed to summarize the impact of interprofessional teamwork interventions on occupational well-being among perioperative healthcare providers. We included all qualitative or quantitative peer-reviewed studies assessing a multidisciplinary teamwork intervention including members of at least two professions. We included seven studies which involved checklists (n = 2), simulation-based training (n = 2), and various teamwork development and training programs (n = 3). Five of the seven included studies reported no significant effect on job satisfaction, while one found a significant negative association between the intervention and job satisfaction (p < .0001), and another showed significant decrease in worker stress. Our findings highlight the gaps in our understanding of the impact of interprofessional teamwork interventions on healthcare worker well-being in the perioperative environment and the multi-level factors influencing OR teamwork, intervention implementation, and well-being across the different professions.

Response to patient safety incidents in healthcare settings in Ghana: the role of teamwork, communication openness, and handoffs

BACKGROUND

Patient safety incidents (PSIs) in healthcare settings are a critical concern globally, and Ghana is no exception. Addressing PSIs to improve health outcomes requires various initiatives to be implemented including improving patient safety culture, teamwork and communication between healthcare providers during handoffs. It is essential to acknowledge the significance of teamwork, communication openness, and effective handoffs in preventing and managing such incidents. These factors play a pivotal role in ensuring the well-being of patients and the overall quality of healthcare services.

AIM

This study assessed the occurrence and types of PSIs in health facilities in Ghana. It also examined the role of teamwork, handoffs and information exchange, and communication openness in response to PSIs by health professionals.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1651 health workers in three regions of Ghana. Using a multi-staged sampling technique, the Survey on Patient Safety Culture Hospital Survey questionnaire and the nurse-reported scale were used to collect the data and it was analysed by descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and linear multiple regression model at a significance of 0.05.

RESULTS

There was a reported prevalence of PSIs including medication errors (30.4%), wound infections (23.3%), infusion reactions (24.7%), pressure sores (21.3%), and falls (18.7%) at least once a month. There was a satisfactory mean score for responses to adverse events (3.40), teamwork (4.18), handoffs and information exchange (3.88), and communication openness (3.84) among healthcare professionals. Teamwork, handoffs and information exchange and communication openness were significant predictors of response to PSIs, accounting for 28.3% of the variance.

CONCLUSIONS

Effective teamwork, handoffs and information exchange, and communication openness in the healthcare environment are critical strategies to enhance PSI response. Creating a culture that encourages error response through teamwork, communication and handoffs provides healthcare professionals with opportunities for learning and improving patient outcomes. Training programs should therefore target health professionals to improve patient safety and competency. Through the implementation of evidence-based practices and learning from past incidents, the healthcare system will be able to deliver safe and high-quality care to patients nationwide. Patient safety must be recognized as an ongoing process. Therefore, a meaningful improvement in patient outcomes requires all stakeholders' commitment.

Development and Psychometric Properties of a Scale Measuring Barriers to Perioperative Hypothermia Prevention for Anesthesiologists and Nurses

PURPOSE

To develop a scale that measures barriers to perioperative hypothermia prevention (BPHP) as perceived by anesthesiologists and nurses.

DESIGN

A methodological and prospective psychometric study.

METHODS

Based on the theoretical domains framework, the item pool was created through a literature review, qualitative interviews, and expert consultation. The scale was pretested with a sample of 154 key stakeholders in perioperative temperature management and then field tested with 416 anesthesiologists and nurses working at three hospitals in Southeast China. Item analysis, and reliability and validity analysis were performed.

FINDINGS

The average content validity index was 0.94. According to exploratory factor analysis, seven factors were obtained that could explain 70.283% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis showed excellent or acceptable goodness-of-fit indices. The reliability analysis demonstrated that the scale had high internal consistency and temporal stability, with Cronbach's α, split-half coefficient and test-retest values of 0.926, 0.878 and 0.835, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The BPHP scale meets the psychometric criteria for reliability and validity and promises to be a useful quality measure for IPH management during the perioperative period. Further investigations on educational or resource needs and the development of an optimal perioperative hypothermia prevention protocol to narrow the gap between research evidence and clinical practice should be performed.

Social and healthcare students' competence in patient-oriented care enhanced during interprofessional practice: A scoping review

AIM

This scoping review aimed to synthesise the findings of previous literature related to social and healthcare students' competence in patient-oriented care in interprofessional practice by attending multidisciplinary student teams.

BACKGROUND

Learning about patient-oriented care requires the comprehensive consideration of patients' physical, emotional, social and economic aspects to offer the best need-based care. Multidisciplinary student teams in the clinical practice may support learning patient-oriented care; however, the current knowledge is fragmented.

DESIGN

Scoping review METHODS: Data (N = 1548) were gathered from four databases, PubMed, MEDLINE, SocIndex and CINAHL, without start-date limitation until the end of December 2022. One article was found on the publisher's webpage recommendations. The selected studies (N = 15) answered the research questions and met the inclusion criteria. Quality assessment of the studies was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Quality Assessment Checklist. A thematic analysis process was used for data extraction and synthesis of results.

RESULTS

Perspectives on patient-oriented care competencies were analysed for both students and patients cared for by a multidisciplinary student team. The themes described students' profound understanding of professional roles and responsibilities in patient-oriented care, collaborative patient-oriented care skills, improved interprofessional communication and reported patient experiences.

CONCLUSIONS

Interprofessional practice versatility develops students' competence in patient-oriented care. Guaranteeing patient-oriented care requires a broad understanding of patients' comprehensive care needs, which can be addressed through multidisciplinary collaboration. Patients' experiences toward interprofessional student practice are mainly positive. Further research is needed to assess the impact of different interprofessional education methods on students' patient-oriented care competence using valid instruments and the long-term effects of students' competence in patient-oriented care.

Applying the theoretical domains framework and behavior change wheel to inform interventions for food and food-related waste audits in hospital foodservices

Background

Completing aggregate food and food-related waste audits in hospital foodservices is an intense practice, however they can demonstrate problem areas that require attention to reduce waste. Identifying interventions to facilitate and improve the implementation of these audits can be guided by behavior change science. The aims of this study were to use behavior change theories and frameworks to (1) describe the drivers of behavior to complete food and food-related waste audits and (2) identify possible interventions that support the implementation and uptake of these audits.

Methods

Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants from hospitals in Victoria, Australia who worked in their foodservice system. Semi-structured interviews sought knowledge of participant's perceived barriers and enablers to completing food and food-related waste audits. Deductive analysis using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and Capability Opportunity Motivation Behavior theory (COM-B) identified dominant drivers of behavior. TDF domains were then matched to their corresponding intervention functions according to the Behavior Change Wheel framework (BCW) to identify relevant strategies that may support audit implementation.

Results

Data from 20 interviews found the dominant COM-B constructs (TDF domains) were psychological capability (knowledge, skills), physical opportunity (environmental context and resources), and reflective motivation (social/professional role and identity, beliefs about capabilities). These dominant domains come from narratives that participants shared about foodservice staffs' lack of knowledge, labor, time, and the hospital avoiding responsibility for audit completion. Corresponding intervention functions that could have the most potential for implementing waste audits were education, training, environmental restructuring, modeling, and enablement. Participants' shared perspectives of audit enablers resembled these: for example, obtaining staff buy-in, reinforcing behavior through incentives and installing an audit champion.

Conclusion

To transition toward regular food and food-related waste auditing practices in hospital foodservices these findings may help identify practice and policy change that delivers standardized auditing activities to encourage long term behavior change. Interventions to support audit completion should address each behavioral construct and relevant domain, as individual hospital sites will experience unique contextual factors and expectations influencing audit outcomes. A co-design process that includes staff and stakeholders of hospital foodservices is recommended to enable engagement and practical solutions to audit implementation.

The Effect of the Application of the Team-STEPPS-Based Preceptorship Guidance Model on the Competence of Nursing Students

Objective

Student competence is an important topic of discussion during the implementation of counseling in the clinic. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of the Team-STEPPS-based preceptorship guidance model on student competency.

Methods

A comparative study was used to analyze the quantitative data. Participants were clinical practice students at "Ngudi Waluyo" Public Hospital with a total of 92 registered students divided into treatment and control groups. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and the Mann-Whitney U-Test were used to assess differences between the intervention and control groups.

Results

There were post-test differences between the intervention group and the control group, namely clinical competence p-value (0.003), nursing management p (0.000), technical competence p (0.008), self-management p (0.000), and care-oriented patients p (0.000).

Conclusion

The Team-STEPPS-based preceptorship guidance model is very important in increasing student competency, not only in mastering clinical competence, but also in mastering technical skill competencies, nursing management, self-management, and patient-oriented care skills, and therefore, can increase student independence.

All professions can benefit - a mixed-methods study on simulation-based teamwork training for operating room teams

BACKGROUND

Operating rooms have become more technically complex due to new advanced procedures, which has increased demands on teamwork in the operating room. In response, team training has been proposed to improve team performance, workplace culture, and patient safety. We developed and delivered a simulation-based team training course for entire professional surgical teams. This type of intervention has been proposed by researchers but has not been widely published. The aims of this intervention study were to examine participants' reactions to the course in terms of their motivation for the training and their self-efficacy in relation to their performance, as well as their views on transferring the lessons learned in the course to their workplace.

METHODS

In a prospective mixed-methods intervention study, operating room professionals participated in a full-day simulation-based teamwork training course. Learning objectives were nontechnical skills, specifically communication and collaboration across the team. Seventy-one staff members representing 5 operating room professions were included, and the average work experience of participants was 6 years. Quantitative data on self-efficacy and situational motivation were collected by questionnaires before and after training. Qualitative data were collected through 5 focus group interviews that took place in direct relation to the courses and included a total of 31 participants. Transcripts were coded and analyzed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

All occupations showed a similar pattern in terms of increases in self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation after the training. Analysis of the qualitative data showed that training in one's profession and in authentic multiprofessional teams was important factors for motivation. Participating staff described an awareness of undesirable communication barriers in surgical teams that can lead to risks for patients. Systematic training was definitely perceived as a means to reduce barriers and improve communication and collaboration.

CONCLUSION

Simulation-based training was equally well received by all professional groups. Our results confirm the feasibility of this type of training for professional teams and promising opportunities for improving teamwork skills. The qualitative data reveal both opportunities and limitations for transferring the learning experiences to the workplace.

Association Between Familiarity of the Surgeon-Anesthesiologist Dyad and Postoperative Patient Outcomes for Complex Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery

Importance

The surgeon-anesthesiologist teamwork and relationship is crucial to good patient outcomes. Familiarity among work team members is associated with enhanced success in multiple fields but rarely studied in the operating room.

Objective

To examine the association between surgeon-anesthesiologist dyad familiarity-as the number of times working together-with short-term postoperative outcomes for complex gastrointestinal cancer surgery.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This population-based retrospective cohort study based in Ontario, Canada, included adults undergoing esophagectomy, pancreatectomy, and hepatectomy for cancer from 2007 through 2018. The data were analyzed January 1, 2007, through December 21, 2018.

Exposures

Dyad familiarity captured as the annual volume of procedures of interest done by the surgeon-anesthesiologist dyad in the 4 years before the index surgery.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Ninety-day major morbidity (any Clavien-Dindo grade 3 to 5). The association between exposure and outcome was examined using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

Seven thousand eight hundred ninety-three patients with a median age of 65 years (66.3% men) were included. They were cared for by 737 anesthesiologists and 163 surgeons who were also included. The median surgeon-anesthesiologist dyad volume was 1 (range, 0-12.2) procedures per year. Ninety-day major morbidity occurred in 43.0% of patients. There was a linear association between dyad volume and 90-day major morbidity. After adjustment, the annual dyad volume was independently associated with lower odds of 90-day major morbidity, with an odds ratio of 0.95 (95% CI, 0.92-0.98; P = .01) for each incremental procedure per year, per dyad. The results did not change when examining 30-day major morbidity.

Conclusions and Relevance

Among adults undergoing complex gastrointestinal cancer surgery, increasing familiarity of the surgeon-anesthesiologist dyad was associated with improved short-term patient outcomes. For each additional time that a unique surgeon-anesthesiologist dyad worked together, the odds of 90-day major morbidity decreased by 5%. These findings support organizing perioperative care to increase the familiarity of surgeon-anesthesiologist dyads.

A Contemporary Analysis of Closed Claims Related to Wrong-Site Surgery

BACKGROUND

Wrong-site surgeries are considered "never events" and continue to occur despite the implementation of the Universal Protocol by The Joint Commission in 2003.

METHODS

The authors reviewed closed claims data on wrong-site surgery between 2013 and 2020 from a medical malpractice company. The claims were classified by allegations made by claimants, the responsible services, the types of procedures, the injuries, and contributing factors. Researchers performed a descriptive analysis of the available variables and reviewed the clinical summary of each case.

RESULTS

Between 2013 and 2020, there were 68 wrong-site closed claims cases. The mean age of the patients was 55.7 (standard deviation 16.21) years, and 51.5% were female. The services most frequently responsible for these were Orthopedic (35.3%), Neurosurgery (22.1%), and Urology (8.8%). The most common types of procedures were spine and intervertebral disc surgery (22.1%), arthroscopy (14.7%), and surgery on muscles/tendons (11.8%). The severity of claims was higher in the inpatient setting compared to the ambulatory setting. The most common alleged injuries included the need for additional surgery (45.6%), pain (33.8%), mobility dysfunction (10.3%), worsened injury (8.8%), death (7.4%), and total loss (7.4%). The top contributing factors to wrong-site surgery were failure to follow policy/protocol (83.8%) and failure to review the medical records (41.2%). The mean closed claim value was $136,452.84, and 60.3% of cases were settled.

CONCLUSION

The risk of wrong-site surgeries is increased with spine surgeries, likely due to unique technical challenges. Further research is required to identify effective methods of prevention of these events.

A Cross-Sectional Study on Attitude and Barriers to Interprofessional Collaboration in Hospitals Among Health Care Professionals

The need for an effective health personnel team is important due to the increasing complexity of patient care and increasing co-morbidities. Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among healthcare professionals offers appropriate collaborative management for humans. This study aimed to assess the attitude and barriers to IPC in hospitals among healthcare professionals in Lahore, Pakistan. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sampling technique. Healthcare professionals (speech-language pathologists, audiologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, neurologists, ENT specialists, pediatricians, dentists, and nursing staff) working at Children Hospital, Shaikh Zayed Hospital, Pakistan Society for the Rehabilitation of the Disabled (PSRD), Lahore, Pakistan were included. The paper and online survey questionnaire composed in the google form and attitudes toward healthcare teams scale (ATHCT) and barriers scale toward interprofessional collaboration were used. Statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used to analyze the survey data through frequency analyses and percentage distributions. Most of the respondents (response rate = 88.1%) had positive attitudes toward IPC and strongly agreed on 9 positive statements in ATHCT. Statistically, Major barriers were role and leadership ambiguity 68.6%, different goals of individual team members 68.1%, and 53.3% strongly agreed on the difference in levels of authority, power, expertise, and income. Although healthcare professionals have an optimistic attitude toward IPC, several healthcare professionals come across challenges during the practice of IPC. To overcome the analyzed barriers, the higher healthcare authorities must encourage interprofessional collaborative strategies and models.

Patient safety and staff psychological safety: A mixed methods study on aspects of teamwork in the operating room

Objectives

To predict the amount of teamwork that takes place throughout a surgery, based on performing a preoperative safety standards (surgical safety checklist and surgical count) and to explore factors affecting patient safety and staff psychological safety during a surgery, based on interprofessional teamwork.

Methods

This mixed methods study included quantitative and qualitative analyses. Quantitative data included 2,184 direct observations of surgical cases with regard to the performance of safety standards during surgeries in 29 hospitals, analyzed using multivariate binary logistic regressions. Qualitative data were obtained from an analysis of 25 semi-structured interviews with operating room (OR) clinicians and risk managers, using an inductive thematic analysis approach.

Results

Analysis of the OR observations revealed that a lack of teamwork in the preoperative "sign-in" phase doubled the chances of there being a lack of teamwork during surgery [odds ratio = 1.972, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.741, 2.233, p < 0.001] and during the "time-out" phase (odds ratio = 2.142, 95% CI 1.879, 2.441, p < 0.001). Consistent presence of staff during surgery significantly increased teamwork, by 21% for physicians and 24% for nurses (p < 0.05), but staff turnover significantly decreased teamwork, by 73% for physicians (p < 0.05). Interview data indicated that patient safety and staff psychological safety are related to a perception of a collaborative team role among OR staff, with mutual commitment and effective interprofessional communication.

Conclusions

Healthcare organizations should consider the key finding of this study when trying to identify factors that affect teamwork during a surgery. Effective preoperative teamwork positively affects intraoperative teamwork, as does the presence of more clinicians participating in a surgery, with no turnover. Other factors include working in a fixed, designated team, led by a surgeon, which functions with effective interprofessional communication that promotes patient safety and staff psychological safety.

Interprofessional Collaboration in the OR: A Qualitative Study of Nurses' Perspectives

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) in the OR enhances safe and effective patient care. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore perioperative nurses' perspectives on their contributions to IPC. We conducted a secondary analysis of 19 semistructured interviews with perioperative RNs and completed inductive thematic analysis with subsequent categorization of the themes into the Interprofessional Education for Collaborative Patient-Centred Practice Framework. Nurses expressed the importance of being heard through effective communication, feeling confident in their role, being aware of interdependent roles, and sharing a common understanding. From nurses' perspectives, use of structured processes enabled organization of interdisciplinary patient care. Nurses showed leadership skills when they anticipated the needs of the team and recognized they needed support to develop these skills. They contributed to IPC through their shared understanding of common goals, leadership skills in the OR, and active involvement in delivering structured processes.

Healthcare professional behaviour: health impact, prevalence of evidence-based behaviours, correlates and interventions

Healthcare professional (HCP) behaviours are actions performed by individuals and teams for varying and often complex patient needs. However, gaps exist between evidence-informed care behaviours and the care provided. Implementation science seeks to develop generalizable principles and approaches to investigate and address care gaps, supporting HCP behaviour change while building a cumulative science. We highlight theory-informed approaches for defining HCP behaviour and investigating the prevalence of evidence-based care and known correlates and interventions to change professional practice. Behavioural sciences can be applied to develop implementation strategies to support HCP behaviour change and provide valid, reliable tools to evaluate these strategies. There are thousands of different behaviours performed by different HCPs across many contexts, requiring different implementation approaches. HCP behaviours can include activities related to promoting health and preventing illness, assessing and diagnosing illnesses, providing treatments, managing health conditions, managing the healthcare system and building therapeutic alliances. The key challenge is optimising behaviour change interventions that address barriers to and enablers of recommended practice. HCP behaviours may be determined by, but not limited to, Knowledge, Social influences, Intention, Emotions and Goals. Understanding HCP behaviour change is a critical to ensuring advances in health psychology are applied to maximize population health.

The who, what, and how of teamwork research in medical operating rooms: A scoping review

Despite the importance of teamwork in the operating room (OR), teamwork can often be conflated with teamwork components (e.g., communication, cooperation). We reviewed the existing literature pertaining to OR teamwork to understand which teamwork components have been assessed. Following PRISMA guidelines for scoping reviews, 4,233 peer-reviewed studies were identified using MEDLINE and Embase. Eighty-seven studies were included for synthesis and analysis. Using the episodic model of teamwork as an organizing framework, studies were grouped into the following teamwork categories: (a) transition processes (e.g., goal specification), (b) action processes (e.g., coordination), (c) interpersonal processes (e.g., conflict management), (d) emergent states (e.g., psychological safety), or (e) omnibus topics (a combination of higher-order teamwork processes). Results demonstrated that action processes were most frequently explored, followed by transition processes, omnibus topics, emergent states, and interpersonal processes. Although all studies were framed as investigations of teamwork, it is important to highlight that most explored only one or a few constructs under the overarching umbrella of teamwork. We advocate for enhanced specificity with descriptions of OR teamwork, reporting practices pertaining to interprofessional demographics and outcomes, and increased diversity in study design and surgery type to advance understanding of teamwork and its implications.

Viewing interprofessional collaboration through the lens of networked ecological systems theory

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is key to ensuring safe quality care for patients. However, IPC intervention outcomes are variable, leading to calls for systems theories to understand complex interactions in healthcare. Using networked ecological systems theory (NEST), we aimed to uncover facilitators and barriers impacting the interactions between nurses and physicians in a specialty healthcare center. A qualitative study involving 55 non-participant observations and 17 individual semi-structured interviews was conducted at the National Neuroscience Institute of Singapore from April 2019 to March 2021. Template analysis was used to analyze the data. The most important IPC facilitators were exosystemic institutional support and physicians' willingness to engage in IPC in the microsystems that together enabled the establishment of disease-based outpatient programs fostering patient-centered interactions among different healthcare professionals (HCP). We also found that patient-, disease-, and systems-related knowledge played an important role in facilitating IPC. Macrosystemic entrenchments such as intraprofessional composition of ward rounds emerged as a significant barrier. However, microsystemic efforts such as chat groups connecting all HCP involved in the care of the patients in the wards have fostered IPC. Although still preliminary, these findings suggest NEST can be useful to inform systematic interventions to improve IPC.