Building Better Communication For Safer Patient Care
Title: Building Better Communication For Safer Patient Care
- Identify the importance of integrating TeamSTEPPS and The Perinatal Rapid Response
- Determine the barriers to incorporating a new training program throughout the Obstetrical department
- Describe concepts that can aid in nurses ability to sustain a culture of safety
The OB Department at St. Luke’s University Hospital and Health Network (SLUHN) has struggled to provide education for staff members to integrate TeamSTEPPS and Perinatal Rapid Response Team (PERRT) initiatives.
TeamSTEPPS was developed by the Department of Defense in collaboration with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). An evidenced based program, TeamSTEPPS improves communication and teamwork skills among health care professionals by eliminating barriers to quality and safety through increased awareness.
The PERRT initiative, developed by OB nurse and physician leaders, prevents and diverts emergent adverse obstetrical outcomes by utilizing sub-acute trigger identification through a time out and a team-determined action plan.
Proposed change:
The department was chosen as a pilot group for an e-learning program integrating these concepts. In order to maintain and sustain the culture of safety in Obstetrics we incorporated My e-learning/TeamSTEPPS PERRT into a competency training program, providing a cost effective alternative to live classroom training, while demonstrating ongoing favorable results in staff perceptions of safety.
Implementation, outcomes and evaluation:
In reviewing available curriculums, it was determined that AHRQ and TeamSTEPPS content experts did not have an online curriculum to spread the teamwork concepts. A joint venture with the SLUHN instructional web designer and the OB Department, an innovative and interactive e-learning module was developed for the TeamSTEPPS curriculum. Developed by nurse and physician leaders from the OB Department, online components were developed and consisted of podcasts and PowerPoint presentations with voice over while the web designer provided the technology that achieved our team’s goals: an interactive, online educational module to provide training and elicit feedback from the participants related to the overall culture of safety and team training. Cost effectiveness analysis shows preliminary savings of $8500 in salaries for staff over two years time. With an increase in teamwork and sub-acute trigger identification, a reduction of 79K in NICU clinical costs during a three year time frame was calculated by the finance department.
Implications for nursing practice: A culture of safety is an organizational priority. Teamwork, respect, communication and open discussion of patient safety and quality of care issues support both the PERRT and TeamSTEPPS concepts. Through e-learning, the SLUHN nurses will be able to sustain these concepts. While the e-learning program provides consistency in education, it also eases the monitoring education compliance along with having a significant cost savings for the network.
Keywords: TeamSTEPPS, Perinatal Rapid Response, Culture of Safety, E-learning