Leading Diverse Teams in High-Stress Trauma Environments

Abstract Purpose of Review Unlike other healthcare settings in which teams with stable compositions can prepare for predictable events, trauma teams must navigate the acute and unpredictable nature of traumatic injuries, the need for quick response in rapidly evolving clinical situations, often poor team familiarity, and limited knowledge of the patient’s history and events leading up to the injury. To address these complex demands, recent efforts in trauma team development have shifted to focus on team-based approaches incorporating leadership and non-technical skills in addition to individual and technical skills trauma training. Recent Findings Team dynamics strongly correlate with leadership behavior and non-technical skills considerations such as shared goals, defined roles and responsibilities, effective communication, and workplace safety. Team leaders can mitigate obstacles to team function through strategies such as performing a team huddle, emphasizing closed-loop communication, fostering a productive work environment, and providing psychological safety. Focused effort to improve non-technical skills, and integrating human-factor and leadership training enhances overall team performance. Summary Although technical skills and knowledge are important foundations for trauma resuscitation, more recent literature has demonstrated that incorporating non-technical skills and behavioral assessments into training paradigms for trauma team members and leaders can improve overall team performance and leadership.