Introduction
There are many ways of how to improve clinical performance and promote patient safety. Team Strategies & Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (Team STEPPS) is one of the methods with five main principles and skills in the spheres of communication, team-building, leadership, situation monitoring, and mutual support (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 2020). In the video “Successful Outcomes Using TeamSTEPPS Techniques”, the staff demonstrates how to cooperate, make decisions, achieve the best results, and avoid mistakes. The analysis of the techniques, experiences, and the situation will be developed to encourage a good future of a master’s-prepared nurse.
Lessons and Techniques for Nurses
The leading team technique is a crucial aspect of health care. As soon as the team and a plan of work are established, the members should monitor events, make adjustments, encourage each other, and review performance. In the video, all these steps have been properly taken. To become a professional nurse, I would like to follow their examples and understand how to create a perfect team. All members should communicate and share their opinions freely to identify their weaknesses and strengths. If there are some questions or recommendations, they cannot be neglected or misunderstood. In this labor and delivery situation, the cooperation of nurses, doctors, and an anesthesiologist plays a key role to identify the details of the patient’s condition, recent changes, and reactions to interventions.
Issues for Concern
After reviewing the video, I was concerned about two experiences about a situation. In communication between doctors and a nurse, Dr. Dean mentioned a mistaken dosage of Misoprostol, and the overdose of this drug could lead to convulsions, abdominal pain, and hypotension, which is dangerous for a woman in labor. The decision of Dr. Pharm to correct his teacher immediately was appropriate, and, what is more important, the reaction of Dr. Dean was professional enough.
He admits that he makes a mistake, praises a colleague, and accepts the right option to a treatment plan. On the one hand, I was concerned that doctors could make mistakes in such simple situations and challenge a future process of work. On the other hand, the team professionally addresses this problem, demonstrating what solutions could be possible in this situation.
Another questionable experience was demonstrated by a nurse, Jean, who admitted that she was in a hurry during her communication with another nurse, Dana. The period of shift change is a critical moment in any hospital because medical workers should share their knowledge about current patients and describe situations clearly bur brief. Although some personal issues or problems occur, they should never prevent a working process. Therefore, when Jean started talking about the necessity to pick up her kids, I was worried that she could miss some information. Still, she was able to mention all the important facts and clarify the situation with the patient in a very informative way.
Positive and Negative Outcomes
In my situation, I experienced positive outcomes as well because this plan seems to be one of the most professional ways of work. When medical employees understand the worth of communication and collaboration, they increase their chances to protect patients and create healthy and favorable environments. There are no independently made decisions, assaults, or omissions, but respect for each other’s opinions is present. Negative outcomes like a breakdown in a team process could happen if some doctors or nurses were not able to accept critiques or recommendations. Human overreacting or the desire to be an unconditional leader may spoil the quality of health care offered to patients.
Conclusion
In general, patient safety and collaboration of the medical team are the major elements of successful health care. When nurses and doctors are ready to cooperate and communicate, they are able to recognize their mistakes at an early stage and predict serious negative outcomes. Therefore, the leading team technique, as well as other parts of TeamSTEPPS, cannot be ignored and must be properly developed by a master’s prepared nurse.
References
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2020). Pocket guide: TeamSTEPPS. AHRQ. Web.
AHRQ Patient Safety. (2017). Labor and delivery: Successful outcome using teamSTEPPS techniques [Video]. YouTube. Web.