Abstract
Safe patient care in hospitals relies on teamwork. Transactive Memory Systems (TMS), are shared cognitive systems that have been linked to team performance in other domains, but have received limited attention in healthcare. This study investigated the role of TMS, psychological safety and interpersonal conflict in predicting team performance in hospital ward teams where team membership is dynamic and often loosely defined. Hospital staff (n = 106) in four wards completed a battery of instruments assessing team performance, TMS, psychological safety and interpersonal conflict. TMS was a weak predictor of team performance, but the relationship was mediated by psychological safety. Overall, team performance was predicted by high psychological safety, low interpersonal conflict and low reliance on team members’ knowledge (i.e. TMS credibility). These findings suggest that, in hospital teams, TMS is not a strong predictor of team performance but team culture is critical to ensure the quality and safety of patient care. Practitioner summary: This study investigated the role of Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) and cultural factors in hospital team performance. Team performance was predicted by psychological safety, low interpersonal conflict and low reliance on team members’ untested knowledge. This highlights the importance of a supportive and psychologically safe team culture for safe care in hospitals. Abbreviations: TMS: transactive memory systems; HCA: health care assistant
Highlights
Safe and effective patient care in clinical settings relies on teamwork; multiple professionals, from different healthcare disciplines, work together with the common purpose of managing and treating a patient
Studies have found associations between Transactive Memory Systems (TMS) and psychological safety in other industries (Kim, Kim, and Jo 2021). This remains to be explored in healthcare teams. Bridging these gaps in current research, the aim of this study was to examine the relationship between TMS and team performance in hospital ward teams and examine the influence of psychological safety and interpersonal conflict on (i) team performance and (ii) the relationship between TMS and teamwork perform ance
In this study we investigated this relationship further by investigat ing the role of TMS, psychological safety and interper sonal conflict in predicting team performance
Summary
Safe and effective patient care in clinical settings relies on teamwork; multiple professionals, from different healthcare disciplines, work together with the common purpose of managing and treating a patient. Teamwork research in healthcare has predominantly focused on stable, colocated groups of individuals working together on well defined, time limited tasks (Rosen et al 2018), such as surgical or trauma teams. This does not reflect most teamwork occurring in hospitals. Care on wards relies on the co-ordination and articulation of tasks, team composition and team responsibilities are often not well defined, well-structured or stable These characteristics of ward teams suggest that teamwork may be challenging, but there has been limited investi gation of ward teams and factors associated with team performance
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