Victorian State Trauma System

Major Trauma Guidelines & Education – Victorian State Trauma System

Learning Management System    Contact Us    Resources       

LMS    Contact     Resources       

Teamwork and Communication

For the trauma team to be effective it is vital that all members of the team are aware of their role, communicate effectively and are able to operate within an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. The structure of the trauma team will need to be fluid and adaptable to the resources available at each facility.

Introduction

Victorian hospitals treat more than 4,000 major trauma patients each year, and this number is
steadily increasing year on year (2). Every time a patient arrives at a health facility, they are
treated by a team comprised of multiple individuals that appear to seamlessly work together.
This is the very definition of teamwork, and it should highlight why this guideline is so
important.

In the context of ‘trauma’, the team is a group of individuals, often from different professional
backgrounds with varying levels of expertise, who come together with a common purpose: the
successful management of a trauma victim.
The traditional ED team consists of doctors and nurses; however, these practitioners work
mainly independently due to conventional demarcations (3). Dependant on location and
available resources, clinicians from the pre-hospital setting such Paramedics may be required
to assist with the initial management of a trauma patient until additional resources arrive. It is
vital that all team members can operate within an atmosphere of professionalism, mutual
respect, and trust, despite diversity in previous experience, training, and professional
backgrounds.
Underpinning the effectiveness of a team, is the ability to perform non-technical skills (NTS) in
a variety of situations, including those of significant time criticality. Some of these such skills
include communication, delegation, leadership, problem solving, decision making, situational
awareness, collaboration, and motivation. There are a multitude of other NTS that all play a
part in creating an effective team structure (4).

Key Attributes

Any team should be greater than the sum of its parts. While it is important that individual
members are highly skilled and technically competent there are several key attributes that
every team member should display:

  • clear understanding of individual roles.
  • awareness of shared goals.
  • ability to display resilience under stress.
  • ability to cooperate on a personal and professional level.
  • flexibility to handle whatever comes their way.
Next Page