ATTITUDES OF THE SURGICAL TEAM MEMBERS' ON TEAMWORK AND SAFETY

Introduction: Studies have shown that surgical team members' attitudes about safety and teamwork in the operating room may play a significant role in patient safety. Purpose: The assessment of attitudes about teamwork and safety among physicians and operating room nurses. Methodology: The study took place in the fall of 2019. The study tool was the Operating Room Management Attitudes Questionnaire (ORMAQ) and the sample consisted of physicians and nurses who worked in the operating theaters of three selected hospitals in the Peloponnese region. From the150 questionnaire were given, 120 were returned fully completed, giving a response rate of 80%. Results: The results showed no discrepancies in attitudes of health professionals regarding teamwork and surgical safety. Physicians and nurses agree that the dissemination of information among the members of the surgical team is satisfactory (4.14 and 4.22), there is an organizational climate in the team (3.88 and 3.69), they trust the leadership in emergencies (3.78 and 3.75), have high work value (3.74 and 3.66). Moreover, participants have moderate stress (3.59 and 3.60), characterized moderate the teamwork (3.56 and 3.48), leadership structure (3.39 and 3.31) and errors in procedures. Conclusions: Physicians and nurses, despite performing different functions, approach the issues of teamwork and safety in the operating room in the same way. These findings demonstrate the need to implement educational interventions at the team level taking into account the human culture and attitude which can significantly affect the quality of services provided