There’s No “I” in “Team”: Recommendations for Effective Teamwork and Communication in IONM

ABSTRACT

Effective teamwork is essential in almost every job, and can even mean life, death, or disability in some jobs. Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) is a career in which effective teamwork and accurate communication are of utmost importance, yet it comes with a unique set of challenges in which to achieve those goals. Operating rooms can be very stressful environments, even if a surgical neurophysiologist (SNP) works in the same hospital every day. Often an SNP is required to travel from hospital to hospital and work with different teams each day. In addition, communication with the IONM oversight professional (IONM-P) can be challenging by nature of the telemedicine model which is becoming the most commonly applied IONM model in the United States. It is unfortunate that such critical skills are assumed and are rarely formally trained. In this article, we present evidence-based recommendations for establishing effective team function. We also provide several tools designed to help create effective and efficient teams. Teams cannot function at their best without outstanding communication, so improving teamwork also means improving communication. This article also provides several techniques for excellent communication, regardless of the situation or context.

KEY WORDS:

• Communication
• intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring
• mutual support
• situational awareness
• teamwork

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

There is not a data set associated with this submission.

Medicolegal Statement

These recommendations attempt to define generalized best practices for the IONM team, as defined within the guidelines, utilizing a typical telemedicine model to deliver IONM services. Although the guidelines encourage incorporating these best practice recommendations to enhance performance and patient safety, failure to do so does not suggest a responsibility breach and should not be utilized to determine wrongdoing.