Table 1

Systems approach applied to intensive care

System components

Evidence from the paper of Fackler et al. [1]

Evidence from other sources (sample)

Individual skill (technical and non-technical)

Technical:

1. Pattern recognition

Non-technical:

Non-technical skills in intensive care [9]:

2. Management of uncertainty

* Task management

3. Creation and transfer of stories

* Teamworking

* Situation awareness

* Decision-making

Teamwork and communication

4. Team coordination

Assessment of teamwork in critical care [10,11]

5. Team communication

6. Fragmentary teams

Assessment of communication in ICU staff [12-14]:

7. Shifting teams

* Aspects of communication: openness, timeliness, and accuracy

9. Role ambiguity

* Interactions between leadership (by doctors and nurses) and communication

Communication as a source of error [15]

ICU environment

8. Increasing shift handovers

Physical, emotional, and professional environment in ICUs [16]

10. External collaborators

Task interruptions in ICU doctors and nurses and potential for error [17]

ICU, intensive care unit.

Sevdalis and Brett Critical Care 2009 13:139   doi:10.1186/cc7787