Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety…

Question Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety… Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS)Teamwork in the field of nursing continues to be important. It has been demonstrated that when nurses collaborate and function as part of a cohesive unit and act as part of a team, they report higher job satisfaction, and patient care is enhanced overall (Ward, 2013).One teamwork model used in evidence-based practice developed by the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ) that uses evidence-based practice in a variety of settings is Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS).TeamSTEPPS is a system developed jointly by the Department of Defense (DoD) and AHRQ to improve institutional collaboration and communication relating to patient safety (King, et al., 2008).TeamSTEPPS LogoSource: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, US Department of Health and Human Services.In the public domain. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/education/curriculum-tools/teamstepps/instructor/essentials/pocketguide.htmlThe TeamSTEPPS triangle logo is a visual model that represents some basic but critical concepts related to teamwork training.In TeamSTEPPS, four teamwork skills are taught:Leadership (e.g., displaying initiative in clinical settings)Communication (e.g., effectively sharing information with team members)Situation monitoring (e.g., providing ongoing surveillance)Mutual support (e.g., creating a mindset of mutuality and supportiveness)If a team can build competency in each of those skills, research has shown the following outcomes:Improve performance processes and productsImprove knowledge sharing among team members and enhance their ability to access informationImprove positive attitudes among team membersThe TeamSTEPPS web page from AHRQ cites an example of situation monitoring and communication. If the team members were competent in those areas, they could create shared mental models. The more improved the outcomes, the better the team skills and attitudes of the team members (AHRQ, n.d.).One of the most important areas for team science in improving patient safety is related to fall prevention in clinical settings. Regardless of the setting, fall prevention is on the mind of every caregiver as well as facility administrators. Data show that trends in patient falls have not improved over the years, despite the amount of attention devoted to this issue.Think back to a time when you remember a patient falling or hearing about a patient being injured in a fall. What were the team member responsibilities that you believe could have prevented the fall? How did the members of the team analyze the events preceding the fall, and what were protocols in place or what protocols were put in place to help prevent future similar falls?  reviewed how the use of Team STEPPS which is the above article is effective in the promotion of collaboration and communication during quality improvement projects. What are the specific strategies you believe would be useful in ensuring the development of an evidence-based practice improvement plan that is inclusive of multiple members of the interdisciplinary team?Identify barriers associated with working on a project with multiple members of the interdisciplinary team. Health Science Science Nursing NUR MISC Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)