Interprofessional team debriefings with or without an instructor after a simulated crisis scenario: an exploratory case study

The value of debriefing after an interprofessional simulated crisis is widely recognised; however, little is known about the content of debriefings and topics that prompt reflection. This study aimed to describe the content and topics that facilitate reflection among learners in two types of interprofessional team debriefings (with or without an instructor) following simulated practice. Interprofessional operating room (OR) teams (one anaesthesia trainee, one surgical trainee, and one staff circulating OR nurse) managed a simulated crisis scenario and were randomised to one of two debriefing groups. Within-team groups used low-level facilitation (i.e., no instructor but a one-page debriefing form based on the Ottawa Global Rating Scale). The instructor-led group used high-level facilitation (i.e., gold standard instructor-led debriefing). All debriefings were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analysed using the inductive qualitative methodology. Thirty-seven interprofessional team-debriefing sessions were included in the analysis. Regardless of group allocation (within-team or instructor-led), the debriefings centred on targeted crisis resource management (CRM) content (i.e., communication, leadership, situation awareness, roles, and responsibilities). In both types of debriefings, three themes emerged as topics for entry points into reflection: (1) the process of the debriefing itself, (2) experience of the simulation model, including simulation fidelity, and (3) perceived performance, including the assessment of CRM. Either with or without an instructor, interprofessional teams focused their debriefing discussion on targeted CRM content. We report topics that allowed learners to enter reflection. This is important for understanding how to maximise learning opportunities when creating education activities for healthcare providers that work in interprofessional settings.