Validation of a measurement tool for self-assessment of teamwork in intensive care - British Journal of Anaesthesia

Teamwork is recognized as a key factor in patient safety, with an established relationship between poor teamwork and medical error. Conversely, there is evidence suggesting that good team performance relates to patient safety and teams appear to make fewer mistakes than do individuals. Effective approaches to communication, coordination, and leadership are well established in the literature on teams, and it would be desirable to apply these to healthcare teams.

While Salas and colleagues argue that teamwork training (in a variety of domains) can be effective, the research on teamwork training initiatives in healthcare is less conclu- sive. Teamwork training initiatives are frequently resource intensive, off-site, simulation-based, and rely on external faculty to conduct the course and provide feedback on team performance. This has high costs and limits access to training and opportunities for recurrent exposure.

A validated teamwork self-assessment tool could be of value to improve the performance of healthcare teams. It could be argued that team training initiatives should be grounded in the workplace with teams who regularly work together, enabling regular, self-directed activities to improve team performance. Learning through reflective analysis of the experience can be guided by a structure to help create clear action points.