Operating Theater Teamwork from the Nurses' Point of View

Abstract

Relevance of the study. Effective teamwork is necessary for the delivery of high quality patient care. Various studies show that unsuccessful communication among health care professionals is one of the causes of medical errors. The environment in operating theater is prone to accidents and teamwork is crucial for safe surgery, although, it seems very hard to create effective teams in the operating theater especially when there is a lot of stress and disrupting behavior. Better teamwork has the potential to improve service, reduce mistakes, deaths and increase job satisfaction for medical professionals that work in the operating theater. Aim of the study- to evaluate teamwork in the operating theatre from the nurse‘s point of view. The objectives. To explore the conception of teamwork in the operating theater; to assess the expression of teamwork in operating theater; to reveal the reasons that negatively influence teamwork in the operating theater; to determine possible premises for teamwork improvement in the operating theater. The methodology of the research. For the research, it was chosen to analyze the scientific literature, to do the qualitative- quantitative research and to make content and statistical analysis. Respondents that participated in this research were 46 nurses, working in the operating theater. The anonymity of the respondents and the confidentiality of the data received is guaranteed. Findings of the study. Effective teamwork in the operating theater is recognized worldwide because it has an impact on high-quality patient’s care, safety and job satisfaction. To work effectively, team members have to posse knowledge, skills and various non-technical skills such as teamwork, trust, communication and leadership. Ineffective teamwork leads to lower patient care. The results of the research show that teamwork in the operating theaters is rated well from the nurse’s point of view. Majority of respondents expressed that factors which are needed for successful teamwork are present in their workplace, as well as, factors that negatively affect teamwork and elements that are wanted for better teamwork in their workplace.