Healthcare professionals’ perceptions of interprofessional teamwork in the emergency department: a critical incident study

Abstract

Background Interprofessional teams contribute to patient safety during clinical care. However, little is known about how interprofessional teams manage and cope with critical incidents in the emergency department (ED). Therefore, the study aimed to describe healthcare professionals (HCPs) perceptions of critical incidents linked to the enablers of and barriers to interprofessional teamwork in a high-risk setting, the ED. Methods Individual interviews with HCPs regarding events at the ED were held during the period of May 2019–January 2020. The Critical Incident Technique approach was used to guide the interviews and the qualitative analysis. Data were analyzed inductively using qualitative content analysis. Results Interview participants (n = 28) included 7 physicians (25%), 12 registered nurses (43%), 7 nurse assistants (25%) and 2 administrators (7%). Overall, 108 critical incidents were described. Eight categories that described functional and dysfunctional experiences within interprofessional teamwork were identified: salience of reflection; professional experience makes a difference; demanding physical and psychosocial work environment; balancing communication demands; lacking management support, structure, and planning; tensions between professional role and responsibility; different views on interprofessional teamwork; and confidence in interprofessional team members. Conclusion Findings of this study indicate that poor ED-specific communication and limited professional experience are essential factors in handling critical incidents related to interprofessional teamwork. An important aspect of critical incident management is the ergonomics of the physical work environment and how it enables interprofessional teamwork. This study emphasizes the factors enabling interprofessional teamwork to manage critical incidents in the complex working environment of the ED.

Patients' Perceptions Resulting from the Contact with Emergency Departments using the Manchester Triage System Protocol

“…The sample consists of eleven patients who were interviewed, in hospitals such as: Hospital de São João in Porto, Hospital Santa Maria in Lisbon, Hospital de Faro, Hospital de Coimbra and Hospital de Aveiro, between March and August 2022. Relatively small samples are common in studies carried out with a phenomenographic approach [28,31,32,34]. The socio-demographic characterization of the sample is presented in table 2, in percentages.…”

Design and evaluation of collaborative decision‐making application for patient care in the emergency department

“…Ensuring successful and effective information exchange among medical professionals in the ED is highly significant. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Collaboration has become a crucial element of effective healthcare delivery, improving teamwork and reducing clinical error rates. Lack of communication is a significant barrier to collaboration, which is essential for a team to function cohesively.…”

“…In this situation, choosing the most appropriate course of action can be difficult and sometimes impossible, leading to risks of communication failures due to incorrect information transfer that endangers patient safety. Ensuring successful and effective information exchange among medical professionals in the ED is highly significant 1–6 …”

“…Ensuring successful and effective information exchange among medical professionals in the ED is highly significant. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 …”

Gap analysis of strategies for promoting interprofessional teams in healthcare units

“…The quality of teamwork in health care systems plays a crucial role in how these systems affect people's lives [12]. While effective teamwork can greatly improve organizational performance, research shows that some organizations struggle to create successful teams that meet their needs, leading to challenges in team activities [13]. Communication between health professionals from different disciplines is complex and requires careful management [4].…”