Teamwork
Current Projects
Handovers in healthcare
Michelle Raduma, School of Psychology. E-mail:
This PhD project is funded by the Scottish Funding Council and aims to investigate handovers in NHS Scotland. As overcoming problems in communication and coordination among healthcare practitioners remains a critical challenge to the improvement of patient safety, this project will examine communication failures during healthcare handovers, and in particular those failures that occur at shift-change. A literature review is currently being conducted in order to document and understand handover processes in various healthcare settings. This is with the view of reviewing available applications of interventions that can be used within NHS Scotland to improve handover.
Safe Handover - Handover practices assuring patient safety at care transitions from anaesthesia
Dr Tanja Manser, Prof Rhona Flin, School of Psychology.
E-mail: r.flin@abdn.ac.uk
This research project is funded by the European Commission (FP7 Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship) and aims at identifying handover strategies that help clinicians to assure continuity of care and maintain safety of surgical patients during care transitions between anaesthesia and the recovery room or the intensive care unit (ICU). The research project examines effectiveness of different handover practices by using interviews to extract aspects of current handover practice which help to create and maintain safety and by observing handovers and assessing clinicians views on their quality and safety. Ultimately, the results of this study will contribute to the advancement of patient safety by providing important input on effective patient handover guidelines and training modules that can be integrated into the education of undergraduate and practising health professionals.
Completed Projects
Teamwork and team cognition in the intensive care unit
Prof Rhona Flin, email: r.flin@abdn.ac.uk - Tel: 01224 272341
This PhD project was sponsored by the University of Aberdeen (2004-2007). The thesis investigated teamwork and safety using error analysis, questionnaires, on-site observations and team performance modelling. It investigated causal factors underlying medical error in the ICU, communication between doctors and nurses, decision-making during ICU rounds, predictions of patient deterioration, and the formation of 'team mental models'. Teamwork was shown to be critical for safety, and consultant leadership to have a profound effect on teamwork and the development of a shared understanding for patient illnesses. Team leadership was also indicated to predict the communication behaviours of junior team members.
Team leadership in the intensive care unit
This project was funded by a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship. The project identified the team leadership behaviours that ICU consultants use on a day-to-day basis to ensure that ICU teams function effectively and provide safe and optimal care to patients. The aim of the research was to develop a taxonomy of leadership behavioural competences indicative of effective leadership in the ICU environment, with the purpose of the taxonomy being to aid in training and assessment.
Team skills training for nuclear operations personnel
Prof Rhona Flin email:r.flin@abdn.ac.uk - Tel: 01224-272341
The object of this project was to study team skills for the high performing teamwork required by nuclear plant control roompersonnel. This investigation was commissioned by the UK Nuclear industry Management Committee.
Tel: +44 (0)1224 273210
Email: w.booth@abdn.ac.uk