Two Hours of Teamwork Training Improves Teamwork in Simulated Cardiopulmonary Arrest Events

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Simulation
• Teamwork and Collaboration

Background:

• Effective teamwork is critical during cardiopulmonary arrest events for successful resuscitation.
• Traditional teamwork improvement programs are often time-intensive.
• This study evaluated a concise, 2-hour teamwork training intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of a short, simulation-based teamwork training program.
• To measure improvements in team performance during simulated cardiac arrest scenarios.
• To evaluate participant perceptions of the training's impact on teamwork.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, pretest/posttest, quasi-experimental design was employed.
• Resident physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists participated in two simulated cardiac arrest events.
• Teamwork was assessed using the Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM) tool before and after a 2-hour educational intervention including debriefing.

Main Results:

• Seventy-three healthcare professionals participated, with varying levels of prior code team experience.
• Significant improvements in TEAM scores were observed for both participants and observers after the training (P < .001).
• Participant feedback on the program was overwhelmingly positive.

Conclusions:

• A 2-hour simulation-based teamwork educational intervention effectively improved perceptions of teamwork behaviors.
• Interdisciplinary interaction, targeted education, and debriefing were identified as key beneficial components.
• This concise program offers a practical approach to enhancing resuscitation team performance.