The Validation of the Patient Jefferson Teamwork Observation Guide (JTOG) Tool

Abstract

Mapped to the Interprofessional Education Collaborative’s (IPEC) Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (teamwork, roles/responsibilities, communication, values/ethics, and patient-centeredness, a subdomain of values/ethics), the Patient Jefferson Teamwork Observation Guide (JTOG) has the potential to improve the patient experience by adding the patient’s perspective on the functioning of medical teams. The purpose of this study was to validate the Patient JTOG by showing that patients without any formal background in interprofessional education (IPE) could not only use this survey to differentiate successfully between good and bad medical team interactions, but also could do so with the same discernment as IPE experts. Sixty-one patients were asked to watch four videos displaying good and bad medical team interactions in the inpatient and outpatient settings. Using the Patient JTOG, these participants were asked to rate these interactions as if they were the patient shown in the video. Eleven IPE experts were also given these instructions, and their responses were used as the benchmark by which to compare the patients. The Global scores (the sum of the Patient JTOG’s five quantitative questions) for the good vs. bad inpatient and outpatient videos were significantly different from each other for the patients and expert participants using the Patient JTOG. Additionally, with the exception of one video, there was no significant difference between the Global scores of the patients and expert participants in these different settings. These results suggest that patients were able to use this tool to distinguish accurately between good and bad medical team interactions, and even to the same degree as IPE experts. By integrating the patient’s perspective into both practice and education, the Patient JTOG will be invaluable in improving the interprofessional teamwork displayed by medical teams, thereby improving the overall patient experience