Table 2 Interview results from the pre-interviews. Hyphens ( -) indicate that the interviews did not contain points within that respective category
From: Psychological safety during the test of new work processes in an emergency department
Deductively coded material | |
Team leader • New suggestions are typically welcome, listened to, decided upon, and tested | Feedback seeking - |
Informal group dynamics • The relationship with colleagues influences the work quality • It is easier to ask for help in face-to-face interactions • One’s own will to engage in the change work depends on how one perceives the enthusiasm for change in the other team members | Help seeking • It should be easy and well received to call for help from more experienced colleagues • One needs support in case of errors |
Trust and respect • Good preparations by other team members can create the trust one needs to feel safe with colleagues • The psychological safety of the person asking for help, depends on the competence of people who are asked for help, and the anticipated likelihood that their advice will actually help • It is important to have faith in colleagues ability to fulfil their responsibilities • Being professional and keeping a respectful tone is important • Good communication and respect for each other are important • Team members are expected to fulfill their responsibilities proactively • Trust that all staff want to find a professional solution for the challenges occurring | Speaking up - |
Use of practice fields - | Innovation • Work distribution could be optimized in a way that some tasks could be placed in different roles • There is some resistance to change |
Supportive Organisational Context - | Boundary Spanning - |
Inductively coded material beyond the Edmondson model | |
Expectations for the tested way of working • Hope to be faster in the new work process Positive expectations in terms of quality and speed • The room and equipment have an influence on psychological safety • The physical proximity can improve communication and therefore psychological safety • Challenges anticipated to find the space and time to think • The physical surroundings could be improved Impact of high workload • If there are too many patients, one needs to work much faster—that does not feel unsafe, however—psychological safety is not seen as directly influenced by being busy • Psychological safety is endangered because it gets difficult to remember all necessary aspects and one feels stressed • Requires enough personnel and space to make it work • The professional discussions with the physician still function well The core activity – treating patients safely – is important • Providing quality care to patients makes healthcare professional feel safe • The focus should always be on the patient • If it is perceived that patient safety suffers, then being busy feels unsafe • Patients had to wait too long Feeling of being informed • Details of the new process are unclear • Feeling safe with the project, even though there was little information provided Change Management • Too many people involved in the discussions can make things difficult • There should not be too many changes at the same time • It can be unclear, who actually knows which competences and skills, team members actually have | |