Recruiting organisation: University of Zurich, Switzerland
Supervisor: Prof. Jan Schmutz, Prof. Peter Dieckmann
Doctoral Candidate: Arndt Pool
Secondments: LMU Munich, Germany (2 months); Copenhagen Academy for Medical Education and Simulation (CAMES), Denmark (3 months)
Summary:
Development of a Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) to measure Team Reflection in healthcare debriefings is achieved by a multi-pronged approach that combines inductive and deductive approaches:
- Integration of the literature to outline central components and definitions of Team Reflection Quality
- Utilizing retranslation of expectations to identify team reflection quality behavioral markers from subject-matter experts
- Quantification of reflection quality behavioral markers in debriefings to derive interventions in support of reflection during debriefings.
Background
Debriefings or after-action reviews after clinical cases or as part of team trainings using medical simulation approaches have gained increased attention in the last decade. Researchers and practitioners agree that debriefings are a valuable tool to foster learning, improve teamwork, and ultimately increase patient safety. The goal of a team debriefing is to foster team reflection as an essential team process. Participants are encouraged to look back and review what has been done, collectively evaluate actions and goals by identifying areas for improvement and looking forward by formulating key actions that will be implemented in the future. A debriefing discussion is a highly dynamics process, and it is challenging to define what behaviours during a debriefing determine if a debriefing is effective. This project aims to unify the theory-perspective with the perspective practitioners take on team reflection, and on how team reflection manifests in concrete behaviors. This is achieved by constructing a behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) to measure team reflection quality.
Approach
The project aims to achieve its goals through:
- A systematic review of definitions and behavioral markers in reference to team reflection quality in healthcare debriefings.
- A mixed-methods approach to develop and derive behavioral markers of team reflection quality in healthcare debriefings that involve interviews and content validation.
- A psychometric validation of a BARS to measure team reflection quality in healthcare debriefings.
Our research team
The Applied Team Research group consists of behavioral scientists investigating teams that often deal with extreme or adverse events (e.g., healthcare teams, military teams) and teams working and living in extreme contexts like Antarctica. To reach our goals, we conduct internationally recognized studies applying a multi-method approach. We observe teams in the field and experimental settings using quantitative and qualitative research methods.
During the project, it is expected to visit our partner organizations Copenhagen Academy for Medical Education and Simulation (CAMES), Denmark, and Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (LMU), Germany. The short stays will be used to broaden the candidate’s network and assess data.
University of Zürich
The UZH is one of Switzerland’s leading research universities with excellent working conditions. With its 28,000 enrolled students, the University of Zurich (UZH) is Switzerland’s largest university. Founded in the year 1833, UZH was Europe’s first university to be established by a democratic political system; today, UZH is one of the foremost universities in the German-speaking world. Made up of seven faculties covering some 100 different subject areas, the University offers a wide variety of Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programs.