Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Team Performance in Simulation Training on a Perinatal Unit

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Patient safety research
• Teamwork and communication in medicine

Background:

• Medical errors and adverse events are multifactorial, often stemming from system flaws and communication failures.
• These errors cause an estimated 210,000–400,000 preventable deaths annually in the US.
• Effective communication and teamwork are critical for patient safety, especially during critical events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) 3.0.
• To improve communication and teamwork during critical events on a perinatal unit.

Main Methods:

• An evidence-based practice project involving 2-hour didactic and interactive TeamSTEPPS instruction.
• 2-hour critical event simulation training applying TeamSTEPPS concepts.
• Assessment of communication and teamwork perception among a multidisciplinary perinatal team using the TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Perception Questionnaire (T-TPQ).

Main Results:

• Communication and teamwork mean scores increased by 61% and 56%, respectively, post-implementation.
• All T-TPQ measures showed improvement, indicating a positive impact on team function, leadership, situational monitoring, mutual support, and communication (p < 0.01).
• A large effect size (Cohen's dz = 0.82–1.32) demonstrated the intervention's significant impact.

Conclusions:

• The TeamSTEPPS implementation provided guidance for communication and teamwork during perinatal critical events.
• Utilizing TeamSTEPPS strategies can cultivate a safe patient environment and a positive work setting that encourages teamwork and communication.