Virtual Teaming: Leveraging Team Science Sense-Making During COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Healthcare Management
• Team Science

Background:

• Cancer anorexia cachexia syndrome (CACS) presents complex challenges for patients.
• A specialized CACS clinic was established to improve patient care experiences.
• The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted established care models and team dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the application of team science principles in adapting CACS care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To illustrate how sense-making facilitated the reformulation of a team mental model (TMM) for telemedicine delivery.
• To highlight the importance of adaptive strategies in maintaining interprofessional collaborative care.

Main Methods:

• A case-based vignette of a patient with pancreatic cancer-associated CACS during COVID-19 was used.
• The principle of sense-making was applied to address challenges posed by the cessation of in-person visits.
• The interprofessional team rapidly reformulated their TMM to enable telemedicine care delivery.

Main Results:

• Sense-making enabled the rapid adaptation of the CACS care team's TMM to a telemedicine model.
• This adaptation minimized treatment delays and optimized the patient experience during the pandemic.
• The study demonstrates a novel application of sense-making in interprofessional cancer care.

Conclusions:

• Sense-making is a critical tool for healthcare teams to adapt their TMMs in response to crises.
• Telemedicine can effectively support interprofessional collaborative care for CACS patients.
• Further examination of sense-making in healthcare teams during and after the pandemic is warranted.