Abstract
Introduction: Teamwork training with simulation has been utilized increasingly to improve communication among healthcare providers. Hospitals have developed programs to train employees in fundamentals of effective teamwork. It is beneficial to train all staff quickly to implement a culture change. Challenges with scheduling a multidisciplinary group represent a significant barrier to successful implementation. We describe various obstacles and solutions to facilitate training staff of the Yale Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Methods: A multidisciplinary approach was used to schedule and train employees between October and November 2010. Neonatal attendings, fellows, nursing leadership and staff, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, respiratory therapists, patient care associates and business administrators participated. The curriculum was adapted from TeamSTEPPS™, designed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Participants attended didactic lectures describing key concepts related to teamwork and participated in simulation. The Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire (TAQ) was administered prior to training and a course feedback survey was obtained. Results: 176 employees from various disciplines received teamwork training in 25 multidisciplinary sessions held over 6 weeks. 164 TAQs were analyzed. Physicians perceived teamwork behaviors to be a 4.49/5 vs. 4.44/5 (practitioners), 4.40/5 (nurses), and 4.25/5 (other disciplines). Conclusions: Logistical issues included (1) high patient census preventing sessions from being conducted in situ and (2) scheduling conflicts preventing staff from participating. Participants ranked their teamwork highly prior to the session. They also ranked the course highly in the feedback survey. This approach could be used to conduct team training in a large unit.