Monitoring teamwork: a narrative review

Abstract

SummaryA narrative review was carried out to identify articles on monitoring of teamwork, with particular relevance to anaesthetists. The papers reviewed showed that team monitoring takes place both implicitly and explicitly in the anaesthetic environment. No single optimal model of teamwork monitoring for all situations was identified. Most of the studies identified were of a pre-intervention, post-intervention design, without randomisation or control group. Information shared during a formal briefing is more likely to be recalled, and provides a basis for a shared team mental model. A number of studies appeared to show that targeted teamwork training has a positive impact on both teamwork and patient safety.

A qualitative study of how inter‐professional teamwork influences perioperative nursing

“…Respectful team communication and adaptability between different professional identities in the OR team can increase OR efficiency (Kaldheim & Slettebø, ; Weller & Boyd, ). Thus, the OR team can compensate for unexpected delays that may arise, for example in the case of patients with challenging anatomy (Rutherford, ). This study also revealed that OR nurses are reluctant to lead the OR team, regardless of how long experience they have and even in situations where they have most knowledge, for example positioning the patient.…”

“…Team skills and team behaviour in the OR have also been improved by team training (Gillespie, Chaboyer, & Murray, ; Nurok, Lipsitz, Satwicz, Kelly, & Frankel, ; Rutherford, ; Weaver et al, ). All inter‐professional team members must be included in teaching, simulation and implementation of tools and strategies (Baker, Salas, Battles, & King, ).…”

Towards automated assessment of team performance by mimicking expert observers’ ratings

“…Coordination can be defined as the sequencing, synchronization and integration of team members' activities to ensure task accomplishment (Cannon-Bowers et al 1995;Rousseau et al 2006). It is the result of either an explicit effort by the team members which requires some kind of interaction between the members, or something that happens implicitly as an effect of standardized procedures and shared mental models (Johnson et al 2011;Rutherford 2017). Cooperation, by contrast, is defined as multiple team members working together on the same task accomplishment (Yeatts and Hyten 1998).…”

Implications of the 2015 AAGBI recommendations for standards of monitoring during anaesthesia and recovery

“…Attention was also devoted to organisational elements in monitoring (see Rutherford's article in this Supplement for further discussion of how to monitor the team ). An aspirational recommendation was included to encourage anaesthetic departments to allow anaesthetists working alone during long procedures to be relieved for meal and comfort breaks.…”