Case Study: Critical Incident Technique

Kvarnstrom (2008) used Critical Incident Technique (CIT) to explore interprofessional teamwork in Swedish health care professionals. The participants (n=18) comprised 4 practising healthcare teams. Interviewing participants using CIT enabled the utilisation of a set of procedures for gathering facts on human behaviour in defined situations in order to facilitate their potential usefulness in, for instance, the creation of solutions to practical problems (pp.192–193). Exploring the difficulties that emerge when respective roles and according knowledge bases are either misunderstood or not respected, and then the respondents’ perception of whether these difficulties could be resolved, the study revealed findings concurrent with the theory described throughout the chapter.  Participants contributed to a weakening of interprofessional team functioning through role protectionism and similar processes, whilst simultaneously recognising this and interacting across professional boundaries in response. Participants implemented interprofessional learning techniques, the success of which was dependant on whether the difficulties discussed above were managed in open joint discussions or not (p.201). The implications here point to a more nuanced interrogation of the processes behind interprofessional communication. Consistent with the idea of ‘varied communication’, it is clear in this instance that the problems associated with a lack of understanding about the purpose or efficacy of a certain profession’s role can be counteracted through approaches to communication which recognises and harnesses the complexity of interaction. Ranging from informal, opportunistic discussions to a targeted message through directed education, the entire scale on which interprofessional communication takes place should be strategically explored. Kvarnstrom also called for enhanced support for interprofessional teamwork at organisational levels, thereby adding a further dimension to the utilisation of the communication scale. The informality that can be accessible to those working within clinical contexts may not transcend the relatively well established professional hierarchies which comprise the structure of many health organisations. Further intelligent strategy is therefore required when communication needs to be mediated according to status (or perceptions thereof).  

References

Kvarnstrom, S. (2008) Difficulties in collaboration: a critical incident study of interprofessional healthcare teamwork. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 22 (2), 191–203 .