Error reduction and performance improvement in the emergency department through formal teamwork training: evaluation results of the MedTeams project.
Using crew resource management (CRM), behavioral principles developed in aviation, this study reports on applying similar teamwork training in hospital emergency departments. After developing and implementing a modified training curriculum, investigators measured its effectiveness by addressing three outcomes: team behaviors, attitudes and opinions, and emergency department performance. The prospective study used physician-nurse teams for training and observation of a broadly defined range of clinical errors. Authors concluded that teamwork training based on CRM led to successful improvements in specific teamwork behaviors, reduced clinical errors, and enhanced staff attitudes toward teamwork.