A Randomized Cohort Controlled Trial to Compare Intern Sign-Out Training Interventions.

Background: Although previous studies have investigated the efficacy of specific sign-out protocols (such as the illness severity, patient summary, action list, situation awareness and contingency planning, and synthesis by reviewer [I-PASS] bundle), the implementation of a bundle can be time consuming and costly. We compared 4 sign-out training pedagogies on sign-out quality.

Objective: To evaluate training interventions that best enhance multidimensional sign-out quality measured by information exchange, task accountability, and personal responsibility.

Content analysis of team communication in an obstetric emergency scenario.

We studied a random sample of four teams of doctors and midwives who participated in a videotaped simulated obstetric emergency, postpartum haemorrhage, before and after 'on-site' clinical training. We aimed to assess the validity of mixed techniques for the analysis of team communication and whether clinical and non-clinical team training improve communication. Two of the four teams received extra training in specific teamwork behaviours (TW+), the other half received only clinical training (TW-).

Selective use of maternal serum testing.

Maternal serum testing is used to screen for both trisomy 21 (T21) and structural fetal abnormalities such as neural tube defects (NTDs). Second line diagnostic testing for T21 is usually by amniocentesis but for NTDs it is simply a detailed scan. It is possible that a proportion of women unnecessarily reject both parts of the screening test because they would not wish to undergo invasive testing and yet would accept a detailed ultrasound scan.