The multi-team system implemented in all hospitals and the majority of healthcare facilities suggests the implementation of numerous coordinated activities in order to ensure safe and efficient patient care (AHQR, 2013). The most common types of teams found in a hospital setting are nursing teams and contingency teams working in emergency care units. The purpose of this paper is to observe and evaluate the communication styles and tools used by different hospital teams in a clinical setting.
For my assessment, I analyzed two hospital teams. One of them was an ICU resuscitation team, while the other was a nursing team tasked with providing care to bedridden patients. These two teams implemented different sets of tools and communication practices. The ICU resuscitation team implemented a custom communication tool, which seemed to be a mix between Call-Out and Check-back, with elements of both used interchangeably. The ICU team was very professional in what it was doing and operated using the situation monitoring process.
The nursing team, on the other hand, operated differently. On different occasions, several nurses operated independently. They engaged in teamwork only when the task required more than one nurse, such as moving a bedridden patient from one bed to another in order to replace the sheets. The nurses used the Handoff communication tool during shift changes, in order to relay all the necessary information to the next shift (AHQR, 2013).
They also used a variation of SBAR when communicating with the leader of the team, when additional instructions were required. However, their version of SBAR was filled with unnecessary information that prolonged the communication process. I would advise them to be more professional in their communication and their use of the SBAR tool. The nurses should avoid idle communication. I would also recommend using the Call-Out model during emergency communications.
If I were a part of a medical team, I would use SBAR, Call-Out, Check-back, and Handoff tools in order to communicate, depending on the situation (AHQR, 2013). If I were to ask for help in an emergency medical situation, I would leave my request for help open-ended, as I would expect one of the team members to help me, when available.
Reference
AHQR. (2013) TeamSTEPPS 2.0. Web.