Promoting interdisciplinary shared mental models.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Communication
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Emergency Medicine (EM) and Hospital Medicine (HM) providers have frequent patient handovers.
• Effective communication during these transitions is crucial but often lacking.
• Infrequent collaboration between EM and HM subspecialties hinders optimal patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement an interdisciplinary conference for EM and HM providers.
• To foster shared mental models between these specialties.
• To assess the impact on communication and collaboration attitudes and behaviors.

Main Methods:

• A quarterly, interactive, case-based conference was instituted.
• EM and HM subspecialty trainees co-facilitated evidence-based presentations.
• Evaluations used cross-sectional surveys and session feedback.

Main Results:

• Conferences showed trends toward increased inter-divisional interaction.
• Increased discussions about management decisions among colleagues were observed.
• Two-thirds of attendees felt the conference influenced future management decisions.

Conclusions:

• Interdisciplinary conferences enhance cross-specialty communication.
• These forums facilitate discussion of management differences in a low-stress setting.
• Shared mental models developed through conferences improve patient care safety.