Enhancing your practice: debriefing in interventional radiology
Kara Fitzgerald1, Jesse Knight2, Karim Valji2
1Department of Radiology, Section of Interventional Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA. kmfitzmd@gmail.com.
Learning Objectives:
Review the history of debriefing and provide an Interventional Radiologist (IR) specific framework for leading an effective debrief.
Background:
A debrief is often regarded as a meeting with persons who were involved in a stressful, traumatic and/or emotionally challenging situation to review processes, communicate concerns or gather feedback. The goals of these sessions can be for learning/quality improvement (QI) or psychological/emotional support, or a mix of both. Debriefing after tough situations has become a standard tool of many medical specialties, such as surgery, critical care and emergency medicine, with specialty specific literature available. However, there is a paucity of Interventional Radiology specific literature available for debriefing techniques.
Clinical Findings/Procedure Details:
We will review the history and types of debriefing and why a debrief could be considered. We will provide a framework for leading a successful debrief in Interventional Radiology.
Conclusion:
Debriefing can be a useful tool for learning and QI as well as psychological or emotional support after a challenging or tough situation. Debriefing can address multiple variables and can stylistically be tailored to suit specific needs. IRs have an opportunity to take a leadership role in debriefing, providing comfort and quality improvement through communication and support.
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