It doesn’t take a pandemic or any other public health emergency to demonstrate that effective interprofessional team communication is make-or-break to patient care and safety. That’s apparent every day, in every clinical setting.
The AMA has an educational module for residency programs in search of training on the benefits of good interprofessional team communication and the pitfalls of its absence.
“Working Effectively Within an Interprofessional Team” is just one of the AMA GME Competency Education Program offerings, which include more than 50 courses that residents can access online through their residency program’s subscription, on their own schedules. The program also features six faculty development courses.
The AMA GME Competency Education Program delivers education to help institutions more easily meet Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) common program requirements. Current program subscribers have access to award-winning online education designed for residents on the go. It’s easy to use and saves time with simple tracking and reporting tools for administrators. Learn more.
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What an effective team looks like
The course kicks off by introducing why it is necessary to be able to identify team members and their specific roles within a team. Each person knows their responsibilities, and they understand how what they are supposed to do impacts the goal of the team overall.
The most effective teams, the course explains, have:
- A shared understanding of the team’s goal.
- Clear explanations and recognition of each person’s role within the team.
- Cohesion among team members.
How the dynamics differ between an effective and an ineffective team are clearly demonstrated in the course through the use of two simulation videos. Each video captures a team of interprofessional colleagues discussing treatment plans for a patient. The first scenario features a team that lacks defined roles and communicates poorly. The video demonstrates how this ineffectiveness affects the team members and can have devastating effects on patients.
The second scenario, on the other hand, captures a well-functioning team smoothly working together to talk through treatment plans for a patient. All of the team members know their roles and how they play parts in the overall care of the patient.
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Defining effective communication
Effective communication can best be described as being complete, clear, brief and timely. As the course explains, effective communication features just enough information that can be easily understood by the intended audience. This can take place during a team meeting or huddle prior to a patient meeting or as part of pre- or post-procedure briefs.
Ineffective communication omits key elements of a patient’s story or is presented in a way that is not simple to understand. The effect of this can be catastrophic. In the course, it is reported that data from 2010–2013 shows that ineffective communication is one of the top three root causes of sentinel events.
“Working Effectively Within an Interprofessional Team” is part of the “Foundations of Quality Improvement and Patient Safety” curriculum within the AMA GME Competency Education Program. Created specifically for residents by subject-matter experts, the curriculum features 10 self-paced “microlessons” on quality and safety, features a longitudinal case study, has health equity woven throughout each course, and can be completed in less than three hours to earn a certificate.
Faculty access is included at no additional cost. Schedule a meeting to discuss your organization’s needs.
