The impact of brief team communication, leadership and team behavior training on ad hoc team performance in trauma care settings.
BACKGROUND
Communication breakdowns and care coordination problems often cause preventable adverse patient care events, which can be especially acute in the trauma setting, in which ad hoc teams have little time for advanced planning. Existing teamwork curricula do not address the particular issues associated with ad hoc emergency teams providing trauma care.


METHODS
Ad hoc trauma teams completed a preinstruction simulated trauma encounter and were provided with instruction on appropriate team behaviors and team communication. Teams completed a postinstruction simulated trauma encounter immediately afterward and 3 weeks later, then completed a questionnaire. Blinded raters rated videotapes of the simulations.


RESULTS
Participants expressed high levels of satisfaction and intent to change practice after the intervention. Participants changed teamwork and communication behavior on the posttest, and changes were sustained after a 3-week interval, though there was some loss of retention.


CONCLUSIONS
Brief training exercises can change teamwork and communication behaviors on ad hoc trauma teams.
Department of Medical Education, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, PO Box 19681, Springfield, IL 62794-9681, USA. Electronic address: nroberts@siumed.edu.
Nicole K
NK
Roberts
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
Reed G
RG
Williams
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
Cathy J
CJ
Schwind
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
John A
JA
Sutyak
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
Christopher
C
McDowell
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
David
D
Griffen
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
Jarrod
J
Wall
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
Hilary
H
Sanfey
Memorial Medical Center, Springfield, IL, USA.
Audra
A
Chestnut
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
Andreas H
AH
Meier
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
Christopher
C
Wohltmann
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
Ted R
TR
Clark
Department of Surgery, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA.
Nathan
N
Wetter
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D010348:Patient Care Team; D016544:Patient Simulation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014193:Trauma Centers; D014481:United States
Communication; Interprofessional education; Leadership; Team training; Trauma care