Team Training and Medication Administration in an Ambulance Service

Overview

Medication administration events have the potential to cause patient harm. Frequency of medication administration events in the ambulance services is less known. Effective teamwork has been described as paramount for providing safe and effective patient care in the high-risk ambulance environment. "Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety®" is an evidence-based team training program released from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The aims of the study are: (1) to advance the knowledge of medication administration process in the ambulance services, and (2) to study the impact of a team training program on medication administration events, teamwork, and patient safety culture. To address the overall aims, the following research objectives will guide the study: Pre-study: To analyse and validate the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version of the Teamwork Perception Questionnaire for use in an ambulance service. Studies: 1. To determine the frequency of medication administration events in an ambulance service. 2. To describe the medication administration process in an ambulance service according to the "Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety model". 3. To identify the impact of a team training program on the frequency of medication administration events in an ambulance service. 4. To explore ambulance professionals' experiences of teamwork before and after the implementation of a team training program and their experiences with the program. 5. To compare ambulance professionals' perceptions of teamwork and patient safety culture before and after implementation of a team training program. Post-study: To study the association between medication administration events and team training and patient safety culture in an ambulance service. A quasi-experimental, pre- and post-design, provides the framework for the intervention of the team training program in two clusters including seven ambulance stations, in total.