TeamSTEPPS-style teamwork in the psych ED
Learning objectives
- Lead a short brief that assigns roles.
- Give an SBAR that separates situation, background, assessment, and recommendation.
- Use a call-out and a closed-loop check-back.
- Call for help before the team is overwhelmed.
- Join a debrief that includes what to change next time.
Learn
TeamSTEPPS is the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality teamwork program. This lesson borrows its tools for psychiatric emergency teams. It is not a substitute for an AHRQ course.
A brief assigns roles before the shift or the event. A huddle resets the plan when the situation changes. A debrief asks what went well and what to change. SBAR is situation, background, assessment, recommendation. A call-out says the critical fact out loud. Closed-loop communication means the receiver repeats the request and the sender confirms. These drills support the coordinated, no-wrong-door crisis response in SAMHSA National Behavioral Health Crisis Care Guidance.
Standards: Teamwork drills support the coordinated, no-wrong-door crisis response described in SAMHSA crisis care guidance. Sources: SAMHSA National Behavioral Health Crisis Care Guidance.
Practice
Behavioral Skills Training:
- Instruct brief, huddle, debrief, SBAR, call-out, and check-back.
- Model a 60-second brief and a 30-second SBAR to psychiatry.
- Rehearse in groups of four, rotating leader and receiver.
- Feedback on whether the recommendation was explicit and whether the loop was closed.
Simulate
Simulation: an ED surge with one person who is agitated and also has a new medical complaint. Nursing, psychiatry, and security brief, then the nurse gives SBAR, then the team huddles when the person tries to leave. Debrief role clarity and whether anyone was left without a job.
Measure
| Skill | Observed? |
|---|---|
| Leads a brief that names roles | ☐ |
| Gives SBAR with a clear recommendation | ☐ |
| Uses a call-out for a critical fact | ☐ |
| Closes the loop and confirms it | ☐ |
| Calls for help before becoming overwhelmed | ☐ |
| Joins the debrief and names one change | ☐ |
Set your own mastery threshold, for example all safety items plus most others. Reassess at one month.
Further reading
- SAMHSA, SAMHSA National Behavioral Health Crisis Care Guidance.
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. TeamSTEPPS.