Table 2 Explanation of the selected tools and strategies implemented in study period [32]
TeamSTEPPS tools and strategies | Explanation |
|---|---|
Closed-loop | Using closed-loop communication to ensure that information conveyed by the sender is understood by the receiver as intended |
ISBAR | A technique for communicating critical information that requires immediate attention and action concerning a patient’s condition |
I-PASS | Strategy designed to enhance information exchange during transitions in care |
Brief | Short session prior to start to share the plan, discuss team formation, assign roles and responsibilities, establish expectations and climate, anticipate outcomes and likely contingencies |
Huddle | Ad hoc meeting to re-establish situational awareness, reinforce plans already in place, and assess the need to adjust the plan |
Debrief | Informal information exchange session designed to improve team performance and effectiveness through lessons learned and reinforcement of positive behaviors |
Task assistance | Helping others with tasks builds a strong team. Key strategies include: Team members protect each other from work overload situations, Effective teams place all offers and requests for assistance in the context of patient safety, Team members foster a climate where it is expected that assistance will be actively sought and offered |
The two- challenge rule | Empowers all team members to “stop the line” if they sense or discover an essential safety breach. When an initial assertive statement is ignored: It is your responsibility to assertively voice concern at least two times to ensure that it has been heard, The team member being challenged must acknowledge that concern has been heard, If the safety issue still hasn’t been addressed: Take a stronger course of action; Utilize supervisor or chain of command |
Cross monitoring | A harm error reduction strategy that involves: Monitoring actions of other team members, Providing a safety net within the team, Ensuring that mistakes or oversights are caught quickly and easily, “Watching each other’s back” |
STEP | Tool to help assess health care delivery situations |