The role of teamworking in error reduction during vascular procedures

To examine the associations between teamworking processes and error rates during vascular surgical procedures and then make informed recommendations for future studies and practices in this area.

This is a single-center observational pilot study. Twelve procedures were observed over a 3-week period by a trained observer. Errors were categorized using a standardized error capture tool. Leadership and teamworking processes were categorized based on the Malakis et al. (2010) framework. Data are expressed as frequencies, means, standard deviations and percentages.

Errors rates (per hour) were likely to be reduced when there were effective prebriefing measures to ensure that members were aware of their roles and responsibilities (4.50 vs. 5.39 errors/hr), communications were kept to a practical and effective minimum (4.64 vs. 5.56 errors/hr), when the progress of surgery was communicated throughout (3.14 vs. 8.33 errors/hr), and when team roles changed during the procedure (3.17 vs. 5.97 errors/hr).

Reduction of error rates is a critical goal for surgical teams. The present study of teamworking processes in this environment shows that there is a variation that should be further examined. More effective teamworking could prevent or mitigate a range of errors. The development of vascular surgical team members should incorporate principles of teamworking and appropriate communication.