A Quality Improvement Project to Improve Family Recognition of Medical Team Member Roles.
OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have shown that inpatients and families in academic settings have a limited ability to recall either their medical team members or the roles of those members. This is an important issue for patient and family satisfaction as well as patient safety. The objective of this study was to increase families' recognition of medical team members' roles.


METHODS
We established a multidisciplinary quality improvement leadership team, measured family recognition of medical team members and their roles, and conducted 2 PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycles. The first intervention was standardization of the content and delivery of our verbal team introductions to ensure inclusion of essential elements and family engagement. The second intervention was addition of an informational white board in each patient room. The prospective study included 105 families in the preintervention phase, 103 post-PDSA cycle 1, and 92 post-PDSA cycle 2.


RESULTS
After conduction of 2 PDSA cycles, the recognition of the attending role increased from 49% to 87% (P = .000), the resident role from 39% to 73% (P = .000), and the medical student from 75% to 89% (P = .038).


CONCLUSIONS
The multidisciplinary quality improvement model was effective in improving family recognition of the roles of attending physicians, resident physicians, and medical students. Consistent attention to engaging the families and explaining our roles as well as providing informational white boards are effective interventions to facilitate this process.
Departments of Internal Medicine-Pediatrics, and hayes79@marshall.edu.
Rebecca M
RM
Hayes
Joan C. Edwards Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia; and.
Afton
A
Wickline
Pediatrics, Joan C. Edwards Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia;
Christina
C
Hensley
Joan C. Edwards Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia; and.
Kelsey
K
Cowen
Departments of Internal Medicine-Pediatrics, and.
Ashley
A
Jessie
Pedatric Unit, Hoops Family Children's Hospital at Cabell Huntington Hospital, Huntington, West Virginia.
Melanie
M
Akers
Pediatrics, Joan C. Edwards Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia;
Jenna
J
Dolan
Pediatrics, Joan C. Edwards Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia;
Audra
A
Pritt
Pediatrics, Joan C. Edwards Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia;
Shea
S
Goodrich
Pedatric Unit, Hoops Family Children's Hospital at Cabell Huntington Hospital, Huntington, West Virginia.
Kelly
K
O'Neill
Pediatrics, Joan C. Edwards Marshall University School of Medicine, Huntington, West Virginia;
Susan L
SL
Flesher
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000592:standards*; D024382:Professional Role / Q000523:psychology*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration*