Leader behaviors to improve teamwork during interprofessional rounds in the NICU

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the impact of leaders' interprofessional teamwork behaviors on NICU staff perceptions of teamwork processes, trust, psychological safety, and voice behavior. STUDY DESIGN: To develop a measure of leaders' interprofessional teamwork behaviors, we observed 199 rounding events at a NICU in the Southeastern United States. We evaluated the effect of leaders' teamwork behaviors on teamwork by observing 931 interprofessional rounds and collecting 115 staff surveys. RESULTS: We identified three categories of leaders' interprofessional teamwork behaviors during rounds: sharing information, inviting input, and maintaining positive rapport. Results indicated a small, positive effect on staff ratings of psychological safety and voice behavior. Leader behaviors did not significantly predict staff ratings of teamwork processes or trust. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that NICU leaders' interprofessional teamwork behaviors can improve NICU staff perceptions of psychological safety and voice behavior during rounds, but did not indicate that these behaviors significantly affect teamwork processes or trust.