Okay, let's talk - short debriefings in the operating room

Introduction Debriefing is increasingly used to enhance learning and reflection in clinical practice. Nevertheless, barriers to implementing debriefings in the operating room (OR) include lack of time, the availability of trained facilitators, and difficulty gathering the full team after surgery. Spending five minutes on a debriefing during skin closure or between procedures may enhance learning and reflection on practice, generating to improve patient safety. The aim of this study was to explore characteristics, feasibility and content of short debriefings in the OR. Methods This was a mixed-method study of short debriefings, analyzing audio-recordings, field notes and relevance ratings from multi-professional teams, that conducted short debriefings in the OR at two University Hospitals in Denmark. Results A total of 135 debriefings were conducted, with a median duration of five minutes (range 1:19 min–12:05 min). A total of 477 team members participated in the debriefings. The teams’ median rating of relevance was 6 (range 1–10). The rating was higher following challenging events and in debriefings where the surgeon actively participated in the conversation. The teams discussed non-technical skills in all the debriefings and verbalized reflections on practice in 75 percent of the debriefings. Conclusion It was feasible to conduct short debriefings in a production-focused, complex work environment. In all the debriefings, the teams discussed various non-technical skills (NTS) and reflected on practice. The majority of team members rated the debriefings as relevant for their task management.publishedVersio

Comprehensive feedback on trainee surgeons' non-technical skills

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the content of conversations, feedback style, and perceived usefulness of feedback to trainee surgeons when conversations were stimulated by a tool for assessing surgeons’ non-technical skills. METHODS: Trainee surgeons and their supervisors used the Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons in Denmark tool to stimulate feedback conversations. Audio recordings of post-operation feedback conversations were collected. Trainees and supervisors provided questionnaire responses on the usefulness and comprehensiveness of the feedback. The feedback conversations were qualitatively analyzed for content and feedback style. Usefulness was investigated using a scale from 1 to 5 and written comments were qualitatively analyzed. RESULTS: Six trainees and six supervisors participated in eight feedback conversations. Eighty questionnaires (response rate 83 percent) were collected from 13 trainees and 12 supervisors. Conversations lasted median eight (2-15) minutes. Supervisors used the elements and categories in the tool to structure the content of the conversations. Supervisors tended to talk about the trainees’ actions and their own frames rather than attempting to understand the trainees’ perceptions. Supervisors and trainees welcomed the feedback opportunity and agreed that the conversations were useful and comprehensive. CONCLUSIONS: The content of the feedback conversations reflected the contents of the tool and the feedback was considered useful and comprehensive. However, supervisors talked primarily about their own frames, so in order for the feedback to reach its full potential, supervisors may benefit from training techniques to stimulate a deeper reflection among trainees