Evolution and Validation 0f Practice Standards, Training, and Professional Development

vii.

Does the team have a reasonable balance between autonomous functions and collaboration?

viii.

Are there adequate organizational resources and commitments for professional development,

team education, facilitation of communication, and restructuring of care processes to support

the effective division of labor?

Mutual trust

Does an environment of mutual trust and support exist among the ICU team? Can breaches of

trust be openly discussed and addressed between team members without a detrimental impact

on professional or personal relationships?

ii.

Does the hiring process include a focus on the personal and professional values that support an

environment of mutual trust? Do members of the ICU team participate in the hiring process

across traditional departmental siloes?

iii.

Is the team effective at establishing and maintaining mutual trust with patients and families?

Are effective communication skills used to explain the process of establishing goals, sharing

information on progress, and incorporating effective negotiation and conflict resolution skills?

iv.

Does the team regularly participate in non–patient care activities (e.g., social interaction) that

allow team members to develop greater trust and know each other at many levels?

Is there adequate organizational support of the elements necessary to establish mutual trust

among teams?

Has the team established a high priority for open, direct, clear, consistent, professional

communication between team members?

ii.

Does communication take advantage of all potential modes and technologies of communication

for efficiency and convenience?

iii.

Do members of the team use effective listening skills, recognizing that deep listening to

the input of all team members, including patients and families, is an essential component of

effective communication?

iv.

Are signs of tension and unspoken conflict in the communication process regularly recognized

and addressed to improve team communication skills and effectiveness?

Does effective communication occur across the team regardless of traditional hierarchical

structures in health care?

vi.

Are the organizational elements for effective communication available to the team?

Measurable processes and outcomes

Has the team identified and implemented reliable, timely, and ongoing measures of team

performance?

ii.

Are these measures focused on both process/outcomes of care provision and team function or

effectiveness?

iii.

Are measures of patient and family satisfaction included in the assessment process?

iv.

Are measures of team member satisfaction included in the team assessment?

Does the team regularly report its measures of success and failure, both internally to the team

and to others in the organization?

vi.

Are performance data regularly used for process improvement with respect to both patient care

and team function?

vii.

Does the team use any standardized tools to assess team function and quality?

viii.

Are organizational resources and commitment adequate to permit teams to adequately measure

quality of patient care and team function?