PATIENT SAFETY
Analyzing interprofessional teamwork in the operating room
Published on
September 1, 2023
Journal of Interprofessional Care
Overview
This prospective observational study evaluated different methods for assessing surgical teamwork and patient safety, comparing two traditional assessment tools (NOTECHS and TEAM) with a modified-SEIPS model. The research analyzed 50 consecutive surgical cases at a Canadian academic hospital using OR Black Box® recordings to understand each tool's effectiveness in providing feedback for teamwork improvement.
The study found that while NOTECHS and TEAM assessments showed consistently high teamwork scores, the modified-SEIPS approach revealed a more nuanced picture, capturing both optimal and suboptimal teamwork behaviors as well as team resilience. The researchers concluded that while traditional tools were useful for summative assessments, the SEIPS model provided deeper insights into teamwork processes and contextual factors, suggesting it could be particularly valuable for healthcare organizations seeking to develop more effective teamwork interventions.
Results
Analysis of the 50 consecutive surgical cases revealed contrasting findings between the assessment tools. NOTECHS and TEAM ratings consistently indicated high teamwork performance across all cases, with minimal variation in scores. However, when the same cases were analyzed using the modified-SEIPS model, a more complex picture emerged. The SEIPS approach identified both optimal and suboptimal teamwork behaviors within each case, revealing nuances that weren't captured by the conventional rating scales. Of particular note was the frequent observation of team resilience - instances where teams successfully adapted to challenges or potential problems. These SEIPS observations provided greater detail about specific teamwork processes and the contextual factors influencing team performance, offering more actionable insights compared to the broader pattern descriptions generated by NOTECHS and TEAM assessments.
