This training package is addressed to lecturers and trainers in the field of paediatrics on how to assist paediatric undergraduate and resident students in developing and consolidating their soft skills for improving the quality of paediatric services.
Communicating with Peers
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4.2 Teamwork communication in paediatrics
4.2.4 Bridging Barrier Gaps: Debriefings
One of the main difficulties we face is to analyse what can be improved of our daily work, seize the chances we have in our medium to make things different, learn about the mistakes made. We may have the impression that we do not know exactly whether we are doing things right or wrong. In summary, the difficulty to get a feed back of what has been done and if it has been well done. A debriefing is a powerful tool that enables a team to self-correct and enhance their performance. During debriefings, team members discuss about recent experiences, what went well, try to identify opportunities for improvement, and which is the main goal. It is an attempt to build a common understanding—by clarifying roles, priorities and goals—remove the different obstacles we can find in the way, and reach consistent agreements about how to ensure future success. Debriefings can be conducted at any time—early in a project, at the conclusion of a work shift, after a key event, or even as a periodic check-in process to stay on track. All the team members can participate, which it is suitable to be guided by a team leader, a consultant or an instructor. A good proposal to make in hospital environments could be to make an effort in organizing debriefings with a certain frequency (for example, monthly) and giving the participants a very accesible material to make their own contributions. One reasonable and feasible way of doing debriefings could be to circulate a tipsheet where everybody can note their worries, notify mistakes detected during the shift, and it should be anonimously done, so that it can be discussed by everybody and all could learn from it. However, a debriefing is not only a tool to discuss about mistakes. It can help to beef up what has been done properly and encourage people to make the best of themselves. In summary, there cannot be progress without analysing mistakes and taking the chance they give us to learn.
Online Resources
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