Postgraduate medical journal
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Team work, communication, and efficiency in the operating theatre are widely recognised to be suboptimal. Poor communication is the single biggest cause of medical error. The surgical operating theatre is a potentially highly stressed environment where poor communication can lead to fatal errors. The objectives of this study were to assess the effects briefings and debriefings had on theatre start time, list lengths, and the staff's impression of these meetings. ⋯ Briefings and debriefings had a positive impact on teamwork and communication. The lists ran more efficiently and briefings did not delay the theatre start times-in fact, the lists tended to start earlier.
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Despite being essential to patient care, current clinical handover practices are inconsistent and error prone. Efforts to improve handover have attracted attention recently, with the ISBAR tool increasingly utilised as a format for structured handover communication. However, ISBAR has not been validated in a junior medical officer setting. ⋯ Use of the ISBAR tool improves JMO perception of handover communication in a time neutral fashion. Consideration should be given to the introduction of ISBAR in all JMO handover settings.