Communication and teamwork are critical to effective rapid response teams, according to a study in American Journal of Critical Care.
Rapid response teams are a group of clinicians who respond to emergencies and manage critical situations to prevent avoidable deaths. Researchers observed RRTs in action and interviewed members of RRTs in a large teaching hospital in California to determine factors of effective teams. The authors identified the following elements as critical to effective RRTs:
• Organizational culture — A culture that values innovation to improve patient safety, supports leaders in adopting patient safety initiatives and aligns clinical and administrative leadership.
• Collaboration — Nurses with critical care nursing experience working with bedside nurses to assess risk.
• Expertise — Highly skilled team members who apply clinical knowledge and experience in crisis situations.
• Communication — Open dialogue that focuses on patients' needs, coordination of information seeking and gaining a clinical understanding of the critical situation.
• Teamwork — Working collaboratively with a shared purpose.
• Training — Multidisciplinary training on communication, collaboration and a team orientation.
The authors also noted several areas for improvement, including training on relationship building, an increased focus on communication, practicing working as a team in simulations, debriefing team members after an intervention and evaluating team performance in addition to patient outcomes.
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Rapid response teams are a group of clinicians who respond to emergencies and manage critical situations to prevent avoidable deaths. Researchers observed RRTs in action and interviewed members of RRTs in a large teaching hospital in California to determine factors of effective teams. The authors identified the following elements as critical to effective RRTs:
• Organizational culture — A culture that values innovation to improve patient safety, supports leaders in adopting patient safety initiatives and aligns clinical and administrative leadership.
• Collaboration — Nurses with critical care nursing experience working with bedside nurses to assess risk.
• Expertise — Highly skilled team members who apply clinical knowledge and experience in crisis situations.
• Communication — Open dialogue that focuses on patients' needs, coordination of information seeking and gaining a clinical understanding of the critical situation.
• Teamwork — Working collaboratively with a shared purpose.
• Training — Multidisciplinary training on communication, collaboration and a team orientation.
The authors also noted several areas for improvement, including training on relationship building, an increased focus on communication, practicing working as a team in simulations, debriefing team members after an intervention and evaluating team performance in addition to patient outcomes.
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