Improving perceptions of teamwork climate with the Veterans Health Administration medical team training program

Abstract

There are differences between nurse and physician perceptions of teamwork. The purpose of this study was to determine whether these differences would be reduced with medical team training (MTT). The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire was administered to nurses and physicians working in the operating rooms of 101 consecutive hospitals before and at the completion of an MTT program. Responses to the 6 teamwork climate items on the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire were analyzed using nonparametric testing. At baseline, physicians had more favorable perceptions on teamwork climate items than nurses. Physicians demonstrated improvement on all 6 teamwork climate items. Nurses demonstrated improvement in perceptions on all teamwork climate items except "Nurse input is well received." Physicians still had a more favorable perception than nurses on all 6 teamwork climate items at follow-up. Despite an improvement in perceptions by physicians and nurses, baseline nurse-physician differences persisted at completion of the Veterans Health Administration MTT Program.