You Are Here: AHRQ Home > Quality & Patient Safety > CUSP Toolkit > Implement Teamwork & Communication, Facilitator Notes
Slide 1. Cover Slide
Slide 2. Learning Objectives
Slide 3. Basic Components and Process of Communication2
Slide 4. Four Key Components of Effective Communication1
Slide 5. Elements That Affect Communication and Information Exchange3
Slide 6. Communication Breakdowns Cause Treatment Delays
Slide 7. Communication Breakdowns Cause Infection-Associated Events3
Slide 8. Exercise
Slide 9. Barriers to Team Effectiveness1
Slide 10. Positive Outcomes of Effective Teamwork on Health Care4
Slide 11. Shadowing
Slide 12. Daily Goals Checklist
Slide 13. Daily Goals
Slide 14. How to Use the Daily Goals Checklist
Slide 15. Using the Daily Goals Checklist
Slide 16. Selected TeamSTEPPS Tools1
Slide 17. Briefing1
Slide 18. Briefing in Action
Slide 19. Huddle1
Slide 20. Debriefing1
Slide 21. STEP1
Slide 22. I'M Safe1
Slide 23. Task Assistance1
Slide 24. Feedback1
Slide 25. Advocacy and Assertion1
Slide 26. Two-Challenge Rule1
Slide 27. DESC Script1
Slide 28. CUS1
Slide 29. Collaboration1
Slide 30. SBAR1
Slide 31. Call-Out1
Slide 32. Check-Back1
Slide 33. Handoff1
Slide 34. I PASS the BATON1
Slide 35. Situational Awareness1
Slide 36. Implement Teamwork and Communication: What the Team Needs to Do
Slide 37. Summary
Slide 38. Additional CUSP Tools
Slide 39. References
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The "Implement Teamwork and Communication" module of the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (or CUSP) Toolkit will help you understand the importance of effective communication and transparency, identify barriers to communication, and apply the effective teamwork and communication tools from CUSP and TeamSTEPPS®.
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In this module, we will:
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Communication, both verbal and nonverbal, is complex and subject to distortion or misinterpretation as it is encoded and decoded between communicators. In verbal communication, ideas are first encoded, or created, when the sender speaks to the receiver. The receiver then decodes, or interprets, the message. The interpretation is affected by the context, auditory distractions, and the individual makeup of the participants involved in the conversation.
These seemingly insignificant elements comprise the overall communication system in which providers share information, ideas, and needs within the health care setting. Each aspect is interconnected and dependent on the influences and composition of the others, meaning a distraction or malfunction in the encoding process or any other component in the model impairs decoding and understanding.
The background and physical environment of the communicators influences the distribution and receipt of messages. Individuals are unique, and their experiences dictate how messages are created, shared, and understood. Knowing this, individuals in health care settings can affect the outcome of their interaction with colleagues by realizing how to effectively share ideas and comprehend those of others.
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Effective communication is complete.
Effective communication is clear.
Effective communication is brief and concise.
Effective communication is timely.
An example of effective communication is applying the four elements to a well-written discharge prescription. It should be:
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Several elements can affect communication and information exchange.
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Communication breakdowns are identified as the primary root cause of treatment delays in the health care environment. According to The Joint Commission, these errors are reported 86 percent of the time and represent the majority of repairable defects within the hospital unit.
Other root causes for delays in treatment are:
And, as this slide shows, there are many other causes of treatment delays.
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Communication breakdowns are also recognized as the chief root cause of infection-associated events within the health care setting. According to The Joint Commission, these errors are reported 75 percent of the time and represent the vast majority of repairable defects within the hospital unit.
Other identified root causes for infection-associated events are:
And, as this slide shows, there are many other causes of infection-associated events.
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Think of a defect that occurred on your unit because of a communication breakdown.
Using the standards of effective communication, list three or four ways to reduce the risk of similar defects from occurring.
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There are many barriers to effective team performance.
Working condition barriers include:
Resource barriers include:
Team composition barriers include:
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Can you provide examples of how some of these barriers might influence your unit?
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Effective teamwork has a positive effect on health care, and is associated with:
By taking the time to engage in effective communication, team members can contribute to the safety of their unit for their colleagues and patients.
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Can you think of a time when effective teamwork had a positive effect in your unit?
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Using the Shadowing Another Professional Tool is a way to examine and understand the cultural differences that exist between various professions. The individuals who shadow and who are shadowed may rotate based on specific unit challenges. Executives, physicians, nurse managers, infection preventionists, bedside clinicians, and unit support staff approach issues in distinct ways, and shadowing provides everyone an opportunity to experience these differences.
Shadowing allows individuals to experience the work culture of their colleagues and gain a deeper appreciation for the demands and challenges of each role. Shadowing often helps expand an individual's interest and willingness to participate in improvement projects. Team members who shadow gain perspective of other roles, environments, and areas that are different from their own.
These areas include practice, responsibilities, and work environment.
Teams can integrate shadowing into their daily activities by using administrative or personal development time. Shadowing aids in the professional development of unit team members by providing them the background needed to identify issues that affect teamwork and communication. These problems can impair the quality of care and outcomes for a patient.
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The Daily Goals Checklist provides a structured means to improve communication among unit team members and the patient and the patient's family. The checklist is a care plan that prompts all staff to focus on what must be accomplished that day to safely move the patient closer to discharge.
This tool also offers providers a structured method to carry out a care plan for their patients. The checklist helps staff move away from divergent thinking and shift toward convergent thinking when following the patient's care plan.
Please note that this tool should be modified to fit your team's needs.
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Play the video.
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When using the Daily Goals Checklist, unit teams should:
This approach will help ensure the discussion is centered on the patient's needs.
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Play the video.
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Units can use the TeamSTEPPS tools listed on this slide to improve communication and teamwork. We'll review each of them briefly.
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Briefings are held among team members for planning purposes.
A briefing immediately:
Briefings are conducted:
The tools for situational and excess shift adjustments call for slightly different reporting tools, but briefings remain the standard format for delivering information that is clear and correct.
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Play the video.
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The huddle serves as a method for generating a shared understanding among team members regarding the plan of care when situational changes mandate the reassessment of plans and goals. Huddles also present team leaders with an opportunity to informally monitor patient- and unit-level situations by gathering the team to discuss a situation and collectively develop a plan.
Updates can take the form of a huddle at the status board or can occur among individual team members whenever new information needs to be shared.
Here is an example of a huddle:
On a very busy evening shift, the ICU Green Team has four patients. During a huddle, the team leader decides that Patient A can be transferred to the step-down unit if his arterial blood gasses after extubation are acceptable. The team is also alerted about an elderly patient with severe pneumonia who is being admitted from the ED.
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Debriefings are information exchange sessions that are designed to improve team performance and effectiveness with each use.
Debriefings answer these questions:
As such, debriefings include:
Debriefings are most effective when conducted in an environment in which genuine mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities. The team leader typically initiates and facilitates debriefings, which are most useful when they relate to specific team goals or address particular issues related to recent team actions.
When conducting a debriefing, address the following questions:
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STEP is a tool for monitoring situations in the delivery of health care. The components of situation monitoring to be aware of and assess the:
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I'M SAFE is a simple checklist that helps you determine your and your coworkers' ability to perform safely.
I stands for illness. Ask: “Am I feeling well enough to perform my duties?”
M stands for medication. Ask: “Am I taking a medication that could affect my ability to maintain situation awareness and perform my duties?”
S stands for stress. Ask: “Is there anything that is detracting from my ability to focus and perform my duties?
A stands for alcohol and drugs. Ask: “Is my use of alcohol or illicit drugs affecting me so that I cannot focus on the performance of my duties?”
F stands for fatigue. Ask:”Am I rested enough to perform my duties?
And E stands for eating and elimination. Ask: “Has it been 6 hours since I have eaten or used the restroom?” Not taking care of our dietary and elimination needs affects our ability to concentrate and stresses us physiologically.
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Task assistance is a form of mutual support among team members that also supports patient safety. By preventing work overload and by promoting, acknowledging, and acting on offers and requests for assistance, team members protect both themselves and their patients from stress and harm.
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Feedback, as a form of mutual support, is information provided for the purpose of improving team performance. To be effective and to promote a supportive climate, feedback must be:
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Team members invoke advocacy and assertion interventions when their viewpoints do not coincide with that of a decisionmaker. In advocating for the patient and asserting a corrective action, the team member has an opportunity to correct errors or the loss of situational awareness. Failure to employ advocacy and assertion frequently has been identified as a major contributor to the clinical errors found in malpractice cases and sentinel events.
You should advocate for the patient even when your viewpoint is unpopular, is in opposition to another person's view, or questions authority. When advocating, asserting your viewpoint in a firm and respectful manner is imperative. You should also be persistent and persuasive, providing evidence or data to support your concerns.
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You should voice your concerns using advocating and asserting statements at least twice if your initial assertion is ignored, thus the name “Two-Challenge Rule.” These two attempts may come from the same person or two team members. The first challenge should be in the form of a question. The second challenge should provide some support for your concern for the patient. The two-challenge tactic ensures an expressed concern has been heard, understood, and acknowledged.
There may be times when an initial assertion is ignored. After two attempts, if the concern is still disregarded but you believe patient or staff safety is or may be severely compromised, the Two-Challenge Rule mandates taking a stronger course of action or enlisting the help of a supervisor. This overcomes our natural tendency to believe the medical team leader must always know what he or she is doing, even when the actions depart from established guidelines. When invoking this rule and moving up the hierarchy, you need to communicate to the entire clinical team that you have solicited additional input.
If you are challenged by a team member, you must acknowledge the concerns and not ignore the person. All team members should be empowered to “stop the line” if they sense or discover a fundamental safety breach. This is an action that should never be taken lightly but requires the process to immediately cease to resolve the safety issue.
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The DESC script can be used to communicate efficiently during all types of conflict and is most effective in resolving personal conflict. The DESC script is used in high-conflict scenarios in which behaviors are not practiced, hostile or harassing behaviors are ongoing, and safe patient care is suffering.
DESC is a mnemonic device:
Ultimately, by using the DESC script, an agreeable solution should be developed by the team members.
There are some crucial things to consider when using the DESC script:
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CUS is an acknowledgment of an unsafe situation. When you use CUS, you state your concern, you state why you are uncomfortable, and then you state that this is a safety issue.
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Collaboration is defined as the act of working together with one or more people to achieve a goal. When unit teams collaborate, they have a commitment to a common mission, which they are more likely to reach as a group rather than as isolated individuals.
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The SBAR technique provides a standardized framework for members of the team to communicate about a patient's condition.
SBAR is an easy-to-remember, concrete mechanism that is useful for framing any conversation, especially a critical discussion requiring a clinician's immediate attention and action. In phrasing a conversation with another member of the team, consider the following:
You may also refer to this as the ISBAR where the I stands for “introductions.”
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A call-out is a tactic used to convey critical information during an emergency. Critical information called out in these situations helps the team anticipate and prepare for vital next steps in patient care. One important aspect of a call-out is directing the information to a specific individual.
Example:
The nurse says to the doctor, “Doctor, the patient's blood pressure is dropping; it is 60/40.”
The doctor replies, “Run fluids wide open and start the dopamine drip, please.”
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On your unit, what information would you want called out?
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A check-back is a closed-loop communication strategy used to verify and validate information exchanged between two people. The strategy entails the sender initiating a message, the receiver accepting the message and confirming what was communicated, and the sender verifying the correct message was received.
The message sender calls out information about the patient (for example, by saying, “BP is falling, 80/40 down from 90/60.”). The receiver acknowledges receipt of this message by confirming the information (for example, by saying, “Yes, the BP is falling”). The sender can now verify the correct message was received (for example by saying, “That's correct”). The sender and receiver both know information was communicated correctly.
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When a team member is temporarily or permanently relieved of duty, there is a risk that necessary information about the patient might not be shared with the replacement provider. The handoff strategy is designed to enhance information exchange at critical times, such as during transitions in care. Handoffs maintain the continuity of care despite changing staff and patients.
Handoffs include transferring knowledge and information about the degree of uncertainty (or certainty) about diagnoses, response to treatment, recent changes in condition and circumstances, and the care plan (including contingencies). In addition to patient care guidelines, both authority and responsibility are transferred from one team member to the next, making the handoff a crucial component of ensuring high-quality patient care.
A proper handoff includes the following components:
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When do you typically use handoffs in your unit?
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I PASS the BATON is an option for structured handoffs. This mnemonic device assists frontline providers with sharing patient information during critical transition periods, huddles, and team rounds. For “I PASS”:
For “BATON”:
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Situational awareness occurs when members of the team have a grasp of what is happening and what will likely happen next. Having this shared information will ensure the group takes the appropriate next steps together.
Using situational awareness, unit teams become more alert to developing situations, more sensitive to cues, and more aware of their implications with a focus on:
Focusing on these areas help improve team equality and support because team members share the responsibility of providing high-quality patient care with their colleagues and become further engaged in helping the team reach its safety goals.
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To further develop and support teamwork and communication, your team will need to:
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In summary:
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In addition to the information presented in this module, CUSP tools are available online on the AHRQ Web site: www.ahrq.gov/cusptoolkit/.
Some of the tools that will help the unit team understand teamwork and communication are a morning briefing, observing patient rounds, and the Team Check-up Tool.
Morning briefing
A morning briefing is a conversation between two or more people using concise and relevant information to endorse effective communication and planning before patient rounds in the unit. This tool provides physicians and nurses a structured approach to review problems that may have occurred during the previous shift, assess the anticipated workload for the coming shift (such as new patients, patient discharges, and patient procedures), and create a communication plan to address any identified issues that may happen during the day. Unit teams can complete this tool each morning during patient rounds.
Observing patient care rounds
Evidence suggests that teamwork and communication affect both staff morale and patient care delivery. Observing patient rounds is a process to objectively gauge and improve teamwork dynamics across and between disciplines, to identify areas in which communication could be more explicit in setting daily patient goals, and to provide a method to continually build communication skills.
Team Check-up Tool
The Team Check-up Tool provides a standardized method for engaging in discussions about culture within the hospital. Unit teams first assess culture before starting an intervention, then use feedback from frontline providers to identify potential barriers to overcome, as well as strengths that can be better used. This tool can be used to target a goal for improvement shortly after the culture assessment and then every 3 to 6 months, or as needed, to initiate culture conversations, evaluate cultural issues (between survey administrations), and monitor the progress of culture change.
References
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Current as of August 2012
Internet Citation:
Learn About CUSP. Text Version of Slide Presentation. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/cusptoolkit/6teamwork/teamworknotes.htm