A Comprehensive Methodology for Examining the Impact of Surgical Team Briefings and Debriefings on Teamwork

Abstract

The adoptions of briefing and debriefing protocols have evolved from the Joint Commission's initiative to improve communication and safety in the operating room. Briefing normally occurs prior to incision and is used to discuss and confirm critical information, while debriefing occurs during or after surgery. Debriefing provides a unique opportunity for individuals and teams to immediately reflect on their performance, allowing them to more easily identify errors and develop plans to improve their next performance. Studies have shown that using briefings and debriefings improve communication and teamwork. However, there is still much to learn about the value of both for surgical teams. This paper presents a robust methodology for examining and measuring the impacts of surgical team briefings and debriefings on teamwork. The methodology includes (1) audio/video recording the surgical care process, (2) prospective observations using a validated electronic data collection tool, (3) pre-and post-surgery surveys, and (4) individual surgical team member interviews. The current paper describes the methodology to obtain a robust and comprehensive data set for analyzing the impacts of briefing and debriefing on teamwork; the results of the surgeries recorded using this methodology will be presented in subsequent papers.

Integrating Postoperative Feedback Into Workflow: Perceived Practices and Barriers

“…These include the Operative Performance Rating System (OPRS) from Southern Illinois University, which has been validated as a more comprehensive and shorter, single-item assessment, as well as a comprehensive assessment tool from the University of Wisconsin that evaluates procedure specific, general technical, and non-technical operative skills (25, 26, 27). Other studies have attempted investigating different methods of debriefs, such as the Procedure Feedback Form that incorporates self-assessment by the resident and evaluation by staff and a study from the Mayo Clinic integrating both post-operative and team feedback prior to closing the patient (28, 29). However, no work has been done to gauge the success of such interventions in comparison to formal post-operative feedback, nor do these interventions address the desire to have feedback in a private setting.…”

Advanced Engineering Technology for Measuring Performance

“…Clinicians require time to show buy-in for consistently using recording equipment and complying with its constraints. 47,49 In addition, the time involved postrecording in data analysis can be excessive and requires interrater reliability assessments to ensure validity.…”

Intraoperative teamwork and workload among surgeons and surgical trainees during DIEP flap surgery

“…Deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap surgery is a breast reconstruction procedure (Blondeel, 1999;Massey et al, 2009) that involves the cooperation of two attending surgeons, surgical trainees, and the surgical team (Law et al, 2014). DIEP flap surgery, as a complex procedure that can last 10-13 hours (Law et al, 2020), is a good candidate to study both workload and teamwork aspects of the surgery from the viewpoint of partnered (paired) attending surgeons and surgical trainees.…”