title: Surgical team training: the Northwestern Memorial Hospital experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop and implement a team-training curriculum. We hypothesized that better interactions between personnel would lead to improved patient safety, increased efficiency, and better staff satisfaction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective assessment of a team-training program.
  
  
  METHODS
  University-affiliated hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Operating room physicians, nurses, technicians, and other personnel.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four-hour classroom curriculum, intraoperative coaching on team-related behaviors, and follow-up feedback sessions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Baseline metrics and observational data were collected for 3 months before implementing the team-training program and 6 months after a designated implementation date. A questionnaire regarding perceptions of teamwork was completed at the beginning of and 6 weeks following the team-training classroom session.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six months after implementation of team training, compliance with preoperative briefings was 66%. No changes in hospital metrics were observed. An improved perception of teamwork among the participants was demonstrated in pretraining and posttraining surveys. Perceptions of teamwork and the utility of a preoperative briefing differed among nurses, surgeons, and anesthesiologists.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our team-training program resulted in moderate compliance with behaviors taught in the curriculum. Even with only moderate compliance, we demonstrated improved perceptions of teamwork.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. ahalverson@nmff.org
authors.forename: Amy L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Halverson
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lombardo
authors.forename: Christine S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Alfred W
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Rademaker
authors.forename: Don W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Moorman
mesh_terms: D002641:Chicago; D003142:Communication; D003479:Curriculum; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires