Working together for success

Administrators and Directors of Nursing usually believe they are doing the right thing when they begin to implement an ergonomic program such as safe resident handling. However, as time goes by, and the program fades, they may wonder where they went wrong. The commitment, planning, and follow through between "management" and "employees" when a safe resident handling/minimal lift program is implemented is an essential, but often overlooked, part of an effective ergonomic program. The best of programs can fail unless there is an ongoing effort by both to insure that the following goals are achieved: (1) safety for the caregivers, (2) safety for the residents, and (3) improvement or maintenance of mobility of the residents.     

Working together to learn together: learning together to work together

Interprofessional non-technical skills for surgeons in disaster response have not yet been developed. The aims of this study were to identify the non-technical skills required of surgeons in disaster response and training for disaster response and to explore the barriers and facilitators to interprofessional practice in surgical teams responding to disasters. Twenty health professionals, with prior experience in natural disaster response or education, participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews. A qualitative matrix analysis design was used to thematically analyze the data. Non-technical skills for surgeons in disaster response identified in this study included skills for austere environments, cognitive strategies and interprofessional skills. Skills for austere environments were physical self-care including survival skills, psychological self-care, flexibility, adaptability, innovation and improvisation. Cognitive strategies identified in this study were “big picture” thinking, situational awareness, critical thinking, problem solving and creativity. Interprofessional attributes include communication, team-player, sense of humor, cultural competency and conflict resolution skills. “Interprofessionalism” in disaster teams also emerged as a key factor in this study and incorporated elements of effective teamwork, clear leadership, role adjustment and conflict resolution. The majority of participants held the belief that surgeons needed training in non-technical skills in order to achieve best practice in disaster response. Surgeons considerring becoming involved in disaster management should be trained in these skills, and these skills should be incorporated into disaster preparation courses with an interprofessional focus.