Problem Statement: Healthcare providers often do not understand the daily responsibilities, teamwork and communication issues of other disciplines.
How does shadowing another profession benefit the participant? Shadowing another provider type will broaden the perspective of the provider, with regard to issues of oral and written communication, collaboration and teamwork. It will identify communication and teamwork defects that may impact patient outcomes. It is recommended that each provider spend 4 hours within another practice domain.
Purpose of Tool: The purpose of this tool is to provide a structured approach to identify communication, collaboration and teamwork defects among different practice domains in order to improve teamwork, collaboration and communication defects that affect patient care delivery.
Who Should Use this Tool?
Patient care areas as part of the Comprehensive Unit Based Safety Program (CUSP)
All staff involved in the delivery of patient care in units with SAQ scores that indicate a poor < 70% score in teamwork and safety.
How to Use this Tool: Review this tool prior to your shadowing experience to identify teamwork and communication issues important in patient care delivery between practice domains. Use this tool to identify problems within the practice setting. Follow your health care provider through their daily activities. At the end of the day:
I. Review your list of communication and teamwork problems.
II. Discuss with the provider you followed: What you believe may reduce communication errors and teamwork problems affecting patient care delivery.
III. Prepare a draft of the problems identified with your proposed solutions and meet with administration to discuss your findings
