Rapid response teams at hospitals with better in-hospital cardiac arrest care do not have competing clinical responsibilities and work collaboratively with bedside nurses, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers analyzed data from semistructured interviews of 158 hospital staff members at nine hospitals participating in the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation program. They conducted site visits to the hospitals between April 19, 2016, and July 27, 2017.
Seventy-two participants were nurses; 27 were physicians; 27 were clinical staff members, and 32 were administrators.
Researchers found that rapid response teams at hospitals performing in the top percentile of the heart association's program typically had dedicated team members without competing clinical responsibilities who collaborated with nurses during and after a rapid response. At these hospitals, nurses also felt empowered to activate rapid response teams based on their judgement and without fear of retaliation from other staff members.
Conversely, rapid response teams at hospitals ranked in the bottom percentile of the heart association's program had several competing responsibilities and were less engaged with bedside nurses.