Team composition and perceived roles of team members in the trauma bay

Perceptions of trauma team members and their roles may impact team performance, requiring intervention. Participant observation and semistructured interviews were performed with trauma team members: attendings, nurses, fellows, residents, and medical students. Some team members do not include nurses as members of the team. A greater proportion of male than female team leaders perceived their role as teacher or educator. Nurses, attendings, and fellows, provided parallel descriptions of good leaders, whereas medical students and residents stressed other qualities. Inconsistencies in trauma team role definition and membership should be addressed, toward the goal of improving team communication and patient outcomes.