Team flow

Effective teamwork and communication are essential for patient safety and clinician well-being. Despite the importance of OR team dynamics, factors that determine team functioning remain largely unstudied. We hypothesize that by characterizing and quantifying “team flow,” a state of optimal experience described in positive psychology, we can learn how to optimize OR team function to improve patient safety and clinician well-being. We are applying the Quality of Life Improvement (QOLI) approach to conduct a mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) study with nurses, surgeons, and anesthesiologists to better characterize team flow and identify opportunities for improvement. This includes qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. Responses will be used to design and implement interventions to improve team flow that benefit a broad group of perioperative stakeholders. This work is funded by a departmental clinical seed fund grant.