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Test Your Knowledge

Use the following questions to assess your grasp of the concepts, principles and processes related to TeamSTEPPS.

Research into the Root Causes of treatment errors have led us to prioritize and address the problem of:

a. Outdated equipment
b. Physician shortages
c. Third party reimbursements
d. System breakdowns
e. Restricting foreign medical graduates

A nurse is very concerned about a baby that she is taking care of and feels it would be best to have the attending pediatrician
come to the bedside immediately to evaluate. Checking around the unit, she locates the pediatrician, but she is busy dictating a
consultation.
The nurse's BEST action is to:

a. Wait quietly, tapping her foot rhythmically to indicate urgency
b. Quickly explain the infant's worrisome appearance, and state "I need you right now!"
c. Walk away, with a plan to check back with the pediatrician in a few minutes.
d. Interrupt by shaking her shoulder and pull her quickly toward the patient's crib
e. Ask the unit clerk to page the pediatrician with instructions to call the nurse on the unit.

A night nurse is concerned about the status of one of the patients in her care and feels that it will be necessary to call and awaken the covering on call physician. Getting her thoughts and information together she plans to structure the phone call in the most effective and efficient way.

Using the SBAR technique advocated by Team STEPPS she should begin the phone call by introducing herself and then describe items related to:

a. Social Background, Assurance, Reassurance
b. Sleep, Bathroom Activities, Results
c. Systems, Background, Allergies, Risks
d. Symptoms, Biography, Activities, Responses
e. Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommenations

During the closure of a complex surgical case, the sponge count comes up one short after two careful counts. The surgeon believing that he removed all visible sponges from the abdomen, ignores the cirulating nurse and continues the closure.

The BEST action for the concerned circulating nurse is:

a. Explain the hospital policy and required actions
b. Page the medical director
c. Call the OR supervisor
d. Demand that the surgeon stop the closure
e. Notify the hospital attorney

The resident working in the ICU is having difficulty interacting with the unit nurse (who has worked there a long time). The nurse continually is telling her what to do in front of patients.

The BESTcourse of action for the resident is to:

a. Demand that the nurse stop undercutting her
b. Tell the clinic manager to reprimand the nurse for her actions.
c. Explain to patients (whenever it happens) that the nurse is having a bad day.
d. Complain to the patient's doctors that the nurse is hypercritical and ineffective.
e. Ask the nurse if you can meet privately with her to discuss concerns you have.

The BEST method of interpersonal conflict resolution, according to Team STEPPS is:

a. Compromise
b. Accomodation
c. Avoidance
d. Collaboratively reaching out using a DESC script
e. Dominance

A shared mental model is critical for team members primarily because:

a. Every team needs a vision
b. Team members get easily distracted
c. Leaders don't always have the best plan
d. Each team member needs to have the same understanding of the plan
e. It makes each team member feel important

The best communication tool or method to get critical information to the whole team during an emergency or complex procedure is:

a. Call Out
b. Check Back
c. Time Out
d. Writie a message on the white board
e. Send a page on the beeper of each team member

Who is the leader in medical teams?

a. The Doctor caring for the patient
b. The Nurse caring for the patient
c. The Nurse Supervisor
d. The Medical Chief of Staff
e. It depends on circumstances

The main reason that hierarchical structures can be a problem to team performance is:

a. Team leaders may often have a difficult personality
b. Members having important information may not speak up or seek to be heard
c. Disagreements often occur between nurse and physician
d. Hierarchies lead to unjust pay grades
e. Patients cannot be trusted for useful information

The most effective way to address a situation where an inappropriate treatment order has been given by the team leader to another team member is:

a. Politely excuse yourself from the care of the patient
b. Say loudly, "this is a huge mistake, I've never seen anyone do this before!"
c. Say, "I'm very concerned, and feel uncomfortable with the safety of what you are ordering,"
d. Call a Supervisor
e. Do what you know is right but don't tell the leader to prevent emabrassment

If a team leader is challenged and then found to be correct, the most appropriate response the team leader can make is to:

a. Debrief the team at the end of the day on the error that was made by the person who made a challenge.
b. Stop the action that is occuring, verify the proper action, and thank the person who made the challenge for making the safety of the patient their priority.
c. Request that the person who made the challenge sent for retraining
d. Remind the team that it is distracting to be challenged when you are leading a team in a critical moment
e. Be kind and ignore that even happened

At the beggining of an important activity or exercise a good team leader should:

a. Make sure everyone is at their desks
b. Give their phone number to team members so they can call if there are problems
c. Enforce silence so that no one gets distracted
d. Hire more staff
e. Introduce herself as team leader, briefly descibe the situation, the plan, potential challenges, and conclude by asking for input from other team members.

After an unsuccessful effort by the code resuscitation team, the most helpful pathway toward team performance improvement involves:

a. Attending the autopsy to see what illness caused the patient's death
b. Figuring out which person was the weak link in the team's performance
c. Require team members to avoid making mistakes in their future performance
d. Decide who should no longer participate on the team
e. Meet as a team to debrief the events that took place during the code

You Have Completed This Learning Module.

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