Masteroppgave i spesialsykepleie – Universitetet i Agder 2014Project backround: Several areas in health care have recently seen an increased focus on the importance of cooperation. In its guidelines from 2010, The American Heart Association (AHA) places increased importance on non-technical skills in the training of personnel who perform advanced cardiac life support (ACLS). The Better And Systematic Team Foundation (BEST), have in recent years contributed to a growing focus on cooperation in trauma teams. However, in Norway, there is little research directly linked to the issue of cooperation in Norwegian cardiac arrest teams. Aim:The aim of this study is to gain knowledge about the experiences of intensive care nurses with regard to cooperation in cardiac arrest teams. Our main concern was: how do intensive care nurses experience cooperation during resuscitation? Method:Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with six intensive care nurses who are certified in performing advanced cardiac life support. The interviews took place in the autumn of 2013. The interviews were mainly centred around non-technical skills in regard to the cooperation within cardiac arrest teams, with an emphasis on areas of potential improvement. Qualitative content analysis by Graneheim and Lundman was used to analyse the gathered data. Results:The findings of this study show that the main areas which are important to the cooperation within cardiac arrest teams are: communication, skills, team dynamics and team leadership. Conclusion:Non-technical skills, in particular communication and team leadership skills, are essential to the interviewees' experiences of cooperation within cardiac arrest teams. Such cooperation can be improved by providing more frequent de-briefs and increased situation training which involve all professions which make up a cardiac arrest team
