Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes - Sensemaking—Fostering a Shared Understanding in Clinical Teams
Authors: Luci K. Leykum, Kevin O'Leary
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2017)

Web Exclusives15 August 2017Annals for Hospitalists Inpatient Notes - Sensemaking—Fostering a Shared Understanding in Clinical TeamsLuci K. Leykum, MD, MBA, MSc and Kevin O'Leary, MD, MSLuci K. Leykum, MD, MBA, MScFrom the South Texas Veterans' Health Care System and UT School of Medicine at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, and Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.Search for more papers by this author and Kevin O'Leary, MD, MSFrom the South Texas Veterans' Health Care System and UT School of Medicine at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, and Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/M17-1829 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Care of hospitalized patients requires coordination and collaboration among many health care professionals. A growing literature focuses on teams and teamwork in health care, noting the importance of relationships, communication, and coordination. However, this literature is surprisingly mixed in terms of the association between team performance and patient outcomes. Some studies suggest that teamwork improves patient outcomes (for example, shorter length of stay or fewer complications), whereas others show no effect (1). How can we explain this inconsistency?We believe that one possible answer lies in how teams “make sense,” or how they establish a shared understanding of a patient's ...References1. Pannick S, Davis R, Ashrafian H, Byrne BE, Beveridge I, Athanasiou T, et al. Effects of interdisciplinary team care interventions on general medical wards: a systematic review. JAMA Intern Med. 2015;175:1288-98. [PMID: 26076428] doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.2421 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. O'Leary KJ, Johnson JK, Auerbach AD. Do interdisciplinary rounds improve patient outcomes? only if they improve teamwork [Editorial]. J Hosp Med. 2016;11:524-5. [PMID: 27149426] doi:10.1002/jhm.2587 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Weick KE. Sensemaking in Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications; 1995. Google Scholar4. Sutcliffe KM, Lewton E, Rosenthal MM. Communication failures: an insidious contributor to medical mishaps. Acad Med. 2004;79:186-94. [PMID: 14744724] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Leykum LK, Chesser H, Lanham HJ, Carla P, Palmer R, Ratcliffe T, et al. The association between sensemaking during physician team rounds and hospitalized patients' outcomes. J Gen Intern Med. 2015;30:1821-7. [PMID: 26014891] doi:10.1007/s11606-015-3377-4 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From the South Texas Veterans' Health Care System and UT School of Medicine at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, and Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M17-1829.Requests for Single Reprints: Luci K. Leykum, MD, MBA, MSc, Division of General and Hospital Medicine, Department of Medicine, UT Health San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229; e-mail, [email protected]edu. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAnnals for Hospitalists - 15 August 2017 David H. Wesorick and Vineet Chopra Metrics Cited byInterdisciplinary Team Meetings in Practice: an Observational Study of IDTs, Sensemaking Around Care Transitions, and Readmission RatesHealth care ethics ECHO: Improving ethical response self-efficacy through sensemakingUse of sensemaking as a pedagogical approach to teach clinical ethics: an integrative reviewMobility bridges a gap in care: Findings from an early mobilisation quality improvement project in acute care 15 August 2017Volume 167, Issue 4Page: HO2-HO3KeywordsCommunication in health careDisclosureHealth careHealth care providersHospital medicineHospitalistsInpatientsLength of stayPatientsSafety ePublished: 15 August 2017 Issue Published: 15 August 2017 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2017 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...