Attached
Background: A growing body of research shows links between poor teamwork and preventable surgical errors.
Similar work has received little attention in the Global South, and in South Asia, in particular. This paper describes
surgeons’ perception of teamwork, team members’ roles, and the team processes in a teaching hospital in Sri Lanka
to highlight the nature of interprofessional teamwork and the factors that influence teamwork in this setting.
Methods: Data gathered from interviews with 15 surgeons were analyzed using a conceptual framework for
interprofessional teamwork.
Results: Interprofessional teamwork was characterized by low levels of interdependency and integration of work.
The demarcation of roles and responsibilities for surgeons, nurses, and anesthetists appeared to be a strong
element of interprofessional teamwork in this setting. Various relational factors, such as, professional power,
hierarchy, and socialization, as well as contextual factors, such as, patriarchy and gender norms influenced
interprofessional collaboration, and created barriers to communication between surgeons and nurses. Junior
surgeons derived their understanding of appropriate practices mainly from observing senior surgeons, and there
was a lack of formal training opportunities and motivation to develop non-technical skills that could improve
interprofessional teamwork in operating rooms.
Conclusions: A more nuanced view of interprofessional teamwork can highlight the different elements of such
work suited for each specific setting. Understanding the relational and contextual factors related to and influencing
interprofessional socialization and status hierarchies can help improve quality of teamwork, and the training and
mentoring of junior members
