Pre-training readiness assessment phase of a TeamSTEPPS ® Interprofessional Collaboration Program in employee health clinics for a school system

Abstract

<p>The purpose of this inquiry was to perform a pre-training readiness assessment prior to undertaking a TeamSTEPPS &reg; (Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance)based-initiative in employee health clinics for a metropolitan school system. With two locations, one clinic is nestled in the inner city and the other sits on the outskirts of the county. The stakeholder participants, three members of management, three nurse practitioners and three medical office assistants, composed the organizational level change team. A site assessment was performed which revealed management&rsquo;s eagerness to embark on a team-training program as measured by the TeamSTEPPS&reg; Organizational Readiness Assessment. Most stakeholder participants had positive attitudes about the role of teamwork in the delivery of health care and strategies for health care professionals to enhance core teamwork skills as measured by the TeamSTEPPS&reg; Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire. Most also had positive teamwork perceptions as measured by the TeamSTEPPS&reg; Teamwork Perceptions Questionnaire. To identify challenges, separate focus group discussions were held with the stakeholder participants and facilitated per the evaluator and a human resource specialist. Content analysis was conducted initially by a colleague and later by the author. The primary barrier to interprofessional collaboration was perceived as communication. Participants identified a number of strategies to provide solutions. The final component, definition of the goal for a TeamSTEPPS&reg; initiative, brought forth training as a best practice in positioning healthcare team members to overcome barriers to interprofessional collaboration. Advancing to the implementation phase of TeamSTEPPS&reg; program was the final recommendation of this assessment.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>