Table 2 Summary of reliability for T-TAQ items and dimensions (N = 458)

Team Structure

1. It is important to ask patients and their families for feedback regarding patient care.

2. Patients are a critical component of the care team.

3. This facility’s administration influences the success of direct care teams.

4. A team’s mission is of greater value than the goals of individual team members.

5. Effective team members can anticipate the needs of other team members.

6. High-performing teams in health care share common characteristics with high-performing teams in other industries.

Leadership

7. It is important for leaders to share information with team members.

8. Leaders should create informal opportunities for team members to share information.

9. Effective leaders view honest mistakes as meaningful learning opportunities.

10. It is a leader’s responsibility to model appropriate team behavior.

11. It is important for leaders to take time to discuss with their team members plans for each patient.

12. Team leaders should ensure that team members help each other out when necessary.

Situational Monitoring

13. Individuals can be taught how to scan the environment for important situational cues.

14. Monitoring patients provides an important contribution to effective team performance.

15. Even individuals who are not part of the direct care team should be encouraged to scan for and report changes in patient status.

16. It is important to monitor the emotional and physical status of other team members.

17. It is appropriate for one team member to offer assistance to another who may be too tired or stressed to perform a task.

18. Team members who monitor their emotional and physical status on the job are more effective.

Mutual Support

19. To be effective, team members should understand the work of their fellow team members.

20. Asking for assistance from a team member is a sign that an individual does not know how to do his/her job effectively.^a

21. Providing assistance to team members is a sign that an individual does not have enough work to do.^a

22. Offering to help a fellow team member with his/her individual work tasks is an effective tool for improving team performance.

23. It is appropriate to continue to assert a patient safety concern until you are certain that it has been heard.

24. Personal conflicts between team members do not affect patient safety.^a

Communication

25. Teams that do not communicate effectively significantly increase their risk of committing errors.

26. Poor communication is the most common cause of reported error.

27. Adverse events may be reduced by maintaining an information exchange with patients and their families.

28. I prefer to work with team members who ask questions about information I provide.

29. It is important to have a standardized method for sharing information when handing off patients.

30. It is nearly impossible to train individuals how to be better communicators^a.