Taking Up the Challenge to Improve Name and Role Recognition in the Operating Room

Abstract

The rise of the #TheatreCapChallenge in 2017, which saw participants donning surgical caps labeled with their names and roles, promises to be a seemingly simple intervention aimed at improving operating theater communication and patient safety. This narrative review strives to expand upon the perceived and studied benefits of this intervention and address potential concerns that have arisen with the use of these name and role-labeled surgical caps.

Response to “Taking Up the Challenge to Improve Name and Role Recognition in the Operating Room”

“…We read with great interest the excellent recent narrative review by Thota et al 1 on the use of surgical caps labeled with names and roles, highlighting multiple benefits and addressing common concerns for this intervention. Our published data from one of the largest interprofessional roll-outs of labeled surgical caps in a perioperative environment complements their review and adds relevant content to their important work 2 .…”

“…Grassroot changes with individuals adding their names and roles to their own caps is an important start, though is limited in the ability to invoke the cultural change needed to have most clinicians wearing labeled caps to improve teamwork, wellness, and patient care. With a growing body of evidence supporting the use of labeled caps, we agree that organizations and hospital leadership should take notice of the benefits, with very little downsides well addressed by Thota et al 1 As next steps, impacts on patient outcomes should be studied, specifically related to satisfaction and preventable errors, which are already known to be influenced by teamwork, communication, and provider wellness. However, awaiting patient level outcomes should not delay adoption of this low resource concept that has been demonstrated to enhance providers’ teamwork and wellness, with a clear mechanism for improvement in providing patient care.…”