The Association of VA SurgeonsPredictors of successful implementation of preoperative briefings and postoperative debriefings after medical team training
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
Sixty-four consecutive facilities undergoing medical team training between December 5, 2006, and June 4, 2008, were included in this study. The study (2008-040259) was approved by the VHA Ann Arbor Research and Development Committee.
During the preparation and planning phase, a facility implementation team worked closely with a nurse educator from the NCPS. Implementation teams included leaders (eg, Chief of Surgery, Nurse Manager) as well as frontline providers. During 3 conference calls, the
Results
Sixty-four consecutive VHA facilities enrolled in the Medical Team Training Program were examined. All facilities had 8 weeks of preparation and planning. Learning sessions involved an average audience of 88.5 participants (SE, 6.4 participants). Follow-up semistructured interviews and coaching were conducted quarterly for an average of 8.2 months (SE, .4 mo) at the time of this analysis.
Table 1 shows data from the FAT. Facilities were grouped into those conducting a preoperative
Comments
Communication failure and teamwork breakdown are leading causes of adverse events in health care, including those errors occurring in the operating room.6, 7 Medical team training improves patient safety and outcomes in the operating room.8, 9, 10, 11 The goals of the VHA Medical Team Training Program are to improve communication and teamwork in the operating room, leading to enhanced patient outcomes, better staff morale, and a change in the patient safety culture. Preoperative briefings and
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