Careful psychological screening has been employed to identify those personality traits in individuals who are unlikely to function well as team members. As a result, despite the increase in volume of commercial air traffic, the number of air accidents has remained static over the past decade. Whereas surgeons frequently work together in pairs, anaesthetists tend to work as independent practitioners within the operating theatre. In the crisis situation, team integration may be impaired by an inability to assimilate information and to convey instructions clearly and accurately to others. The clinical scenario within this session covers aspects of human and machine interaction during routine and emergency anaesthesia and the effects of personality and hierarchy on performance.
Teams function most effectively by co-operation in the presence of an effective leader.
Course participants will be expected to participate in the debriefing of video examples of crises evolving in the clinical environment. The session will highlight leadership qualities and elements of team dysfunction. Please ensure that you return these asap to Alan Jones, the Centre Manager. The morning will conclude with a theatre simulation of a critical incident requiring participation from all the delegates. Nevertheless, work conducted in the simulation theatre has produced some interesting findings.