Carmen Diaz, MPP
PhD candidate
Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois
Disclosure information not submitted.
Bona Ko, MD
Research Fellow
Northwestern University, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Kaithlyn Tesorero, n/a
Undergraduate Student
University of Illinois Chicago, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Katherine Lin, MD
Master's Student
Northwestern University, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Julie Johnson, MSPH, PhD
Scientific Director at the Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Anne Stey, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine-Trauma Critical Care Surgery, United States
Disclosure information not submitted.
Title: Communication and Teamwork Assessment During Interdisciplinary Surgical Intensive Care Units Rounds
Introduction: Management of critically ill surgical patients requires effective interdisciplinary collaboration, communication, and teamwork to bring collective knowledge of all professionals to the care of patients. This study explored themes associated with teamwork and communication during interdisciplinary rounds in the surgical Intensive Care Units (SICU).
Methods: We used a convergent mixed method design to understand factors related to effective communication and teamwork. TeamSTEPPS teamwork perception questionnaire was used to survey SICU nurses and residents on their perceptions of communication and mutual support between members of the surgical teams. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze findings from the survey. We conducted non-participant observations of SICU rounds, nurses, and resident hand-offs to assess communication. During observation, a study team member took field notes and used an observation tool that was developed by the study team. A thematic analysis, using inductive and deductive logic, was used to generate themes.
Results: Data were collected from one Surgical ICU from a US Midwest academic hospital. Among the 23 survey respondents, 19 (82.6%) were nurses and 4 (17.4) were residents. The total score for the communication domain was 24.26 out of 35, while the total score for the mutual support domain was 30.13 out of 35. The difference between nurses' and residents' perceptions on teamwork and mutual support were not statistically significant. We conducted 26 person-hours observations of ICU rounds and hand-offs over 3 months (May to July). We identified four inter-related themes from qualitative analysis of the observations: team leadership skills, structured SICU rounds, psychological safety, communication, and shared understanding.
Conclusions: This study revealed that residents and nurses perceived that there was good communication and teamwork. Team leadership skills are foundational in establishing a structured SICU round, which in turn creates a psychological safe environment for building shared understanding and enhanced communication related to patient care.