Development of trauma team cognition can be explained by ”split vision”: A grounded theory study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore interaction of interprofessional hospital trauma teams. A theory about how team cognition is developed through a dynamical process was established using grounded theory methodology. Video recordings of in-real-life resuscitations performed in the emergency ward of a Scandinavian mid-size urban hospital were collected and eligible for inclusion using theoretical sampling. By analyzing interactions during seven trauma resuscitations, the theory that trauma teams perform patient assessment and resuscitation by alternating between two process modes, the two main categories “team positioning” and “sensitivity to the patient,” was generated. The core category “working with split vision” explicates how the teams interplay between the two modes to coordinate team focus with an emergent mental model of the specific situation. Split vision ensures that deeper aspects of the team, such as culture, knowledge, empathy, and patient needs are absorbed to continuously adapt team positioning and create precision in care for the specific patient.