Story by Roberto Johnson, intern,
WBAMC Public Affairs
William Beaumont Army Medical Center leaders took part in Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) Staff Assistance Visit (SAV) from U.S. Army Medical Command's TeamSTEPPS advisory team at WBAMC, July 25-26.
The SAV evaluated and trained staff on TeamSTEPPS procedures and utilization as part of WBAMC's Patient Safety Program (PSP). The visit offered a combination of education and simulations to enable WBAMC employees in using TeamSTEPPS tools to improve patient safety and healthcare quality at the Military Treatment Facility (MTF).
"The purpose is to help teams effectively communicate," said Dawn Hinckley, patient safety nurse consultant, U.S. Army Medical Command. "When teams effectively communicate and we have a plan for healthcare like a surgery or procedure at an outpatient clinic, we reduce the risk of injury to a patient or a medical error based on having better communications and a better plan."
The visit reiterated the importance of communication in the workplace to help resolve conflict. TeamSTEPPS offers various tools, checklists and guidelines to help guide and structure process and decision making in the workplace.
"The group's goal is to make the leadership comfortable talking about conflict," said Hinckley. "TeamSTEPPS also aims to raise staff's confidence going into unknown and different situations."
TeamSTEPPS' systematic approach is structured to identify barriers through tools and strategies which may include team huddles, feedback and handoffs during shift changes. According to the TeamSTEPPS philosophy, change in the culture at the MTF occurs when these tools and strategies are used daily, creating a safer and improved patient care experience. Five key principles drive the TeamSTEPPS process: team structure, communication, leadership, situation monitoring and mutual support. The principles are designed to advance knowledge, change attitudes and improve performance resulting in an enhanced culture of safety.
"(In 2014 when TeamSTEPPS was implemented at WBAMC) the initial process was to educate everyone as part of annual training," said Col. Michael Abel, deputy commander of quality and safety, WBAMC. "Now, we want to move it from being a training program to a program that is well-developed and used throughout the hospital and the staff on a daily basis."
Within WBAMC, mutual support is being stressed to increase safety among teams. The principle includes the need to utilize the two-challenge rule, which empowers all staff to voice their concern at least two times to ensure it has been heard, by utilizing the acronym CUS (I am Concerned, I am Uncomfortable, this is a Safety issue) and DESC (Describe the specific situation or behavior, Express how the situation makes you feel, Suggest other alternatives, Consequences should be stated in terms of impact on established team goals).
"If an employee sees something that looks unsafe, they have to communicate (the concern) to the team using the CUS strategy," said Abel. "Staff members then get feedback from the team. If they don't get the feedback (or acknowledgement that there is a concern) from the team, then employees are empowered to voice their concern again."
While TeamSTEPPS' CUS strategy initializes the process, employees are encouraged to use the DESC strategies to resolve conflict at the lowest level while still being encouraged to use the two-challenge rule to advocate for the patient and ensure their concern is resolved.
"The program is bigger than just training, it's a holistic program to communicate and provide better patient care," said Abel.
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