Can team training make surgery safer? Lessons for national implementation of a simulation-based programme.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Patient Safety
• Surgical Team Performance

Background:

• Unintended patient harm in surgery often stems from teamwork failures.
• Effective teamwork is crucial for improving surgical patient outcomes.
• The Multidisciplinary Operating Room Simulation (MORSim) intervention was developed to enhance OR teamwork.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the experiences of surgical teams exposed to the MORSim intervention.
• To identify challenges in implementing practice changes following MORSim.
• To provide recommendations for successful regional or national MORSim program implementation.

Main Methods:

• Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of MORSim participants 3-6 months post-course.
• Interviews explored participants' experiences with clinical practice changes after MORSim.
• Data were analyzed using a general inductive approach to identify key themes.

Main Results:

• Participants reported adopting MORSim elements, leading to positive changes in communication, culture, and collaboration.
• MORSim concepts were shared with colleagues and integrated into teaching and orientation.
• Barriers included unengaged colleagues, communication hierarchies, and insufficient staff exposure.

Conclusions:

• MORSim demonstrated lasting positive effects on attitudes and behaviors related to teamwork and communication.
• Simulation-based team training, like MORSim, is valuable for improving OR team performance.
• The study offers insights for implementing regular, widespread team training for operating room teams.