The purpose of this blog is to introduce you to a powerful approach that hospitals across the states are using to increase team performance and communication.  This approach, which is almost a way of life for many hospitals, is called TeamSTEPPS.  Although TeamSTEPPS (or Team Strategies to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety) recently began its life in the healthcare industry, I expect that its tools and strategies will become commonplace practices for all types of organizations that rely on teams to accomplish tasks.  Because there is a lot to know about this topic, it will be broken down into two blogs- the first will define TeamSTEPPS and describe its history (which is pretty amazing!), and the second will go into detail on specific TeamSTEPPS tools and strategies as well as the outcomes from their use.  So, sit down, get comfortable, and take some time to learn about something ahead of the curve- an approach and philosophy to teamwork that has the potential to improve organizations from all sectors and industries!

WHAT IS TEAMSTEPPS? TeamSTEPPS is a collection of tools, strategies, and training curriculum focused on establishing high performing teams.  The main areas of focus include:

• Creating high performing teams that effectively use people, resources, and information to achieve desired outcomes
• Increasing team awareness and clarifying roles, responsibilities, and outcomes
• Resolving conflict and improving information-sharing
• Eliminating barriers to quality, performance, and successful outcomes (including patient safety for hospital teams)

The diagram here shows the two-way interactions between team skills and outcomes (Source: TeamSTEPPS Pocket Guide). TeamSTEPPS focuses on the three team-related outcomes (performance, knowledge, and attitudes) through improving four teachable-learnable skills (leadership, communication, situation monitoring, and mutual support).  To achieve the positive outcomes described at the edges of the triangle, a TeamSTEPPS program normally takes the following actions:

• Assess current organizational culture
• Analyze culture, survey results, and other data to create a teamwork improvement action plan
• Design/Implement a proposal to develop team-related competencies among staff
• Integrate TeamSTEPPS into daily practice

HISTORY:  Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) was released by the Department of Defense Patient Safety Program (PSP) in 2006 as a systematic approach to integrate teamwork into practice at medical facilities.  Created as a direct result of the 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report entitled To Err is Human, which concluded that almost 100,000 deaths are caused by medical error every year, TeamSTEPPS is designed to improve team performance, efficiency, communication, and safety in healthcare.  Since its release, TeamSTEPPS has become the national standard of teamwork training in the healthcare industry.  The reason for this success is largely due to the fact that patient safety depends on the collaboration and interaction of teams that have extremely diverse backgrounds and training.   Although it is focused on improving team functioning in hospitals, it is highly applicable to other industries as well because at its core, TeamSTEPPS is really all about improving team processes.

For more information on TeamSTEPPS, go here.

–Robert Bullock