Abstract
Novice nurses are particularly vulnerable to medical errors, often hesitant to speak up for fear of appearing incompetent. Additionally, many healthcare professionals lack the communication skills necessary for promoting patient safety. To address this, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and The Joint Commission advocate for standardized communication tools such as TeamSTEPPS—an evidence-based framework designed to enhance team structure, leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communication.
Recognizing the importance of these competencies, nurse educators in a College of Nursing integrated TeamSTEPPS across their undergraduate curriculum's didactic, clinical, and simulation settings. This initiative aligns with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) essentials, emphasizing leadership, quality improvement, and patient safety. The goal: to foster a culture of safety and teamwork that supports novice nurses as they transition into professional practice.
This study examines the impact of TeamSTEPPS training on the perceptions of communication and patient safety among undergraduate nursing students, evaluating its effectiveness in preparing them for real-world clinical environments.
Using a longitudinal mixed-methods design, a convenience sample of senior nursing students completed the TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire (T-TAQ) and the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS) during their final semester and again one year post-graduation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore participants’ experiences with communication, near misses, and errors. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t-tests; qualitative data underwent thematic analysis.
Analysis reveals how graduates perceive the role of communication and teamwork in patient safety, and how these skills influence their confidence and effectiveness as novice nurses. Emerging themes from interviews provide deeper insight into the real-world application of TeamSTEPPS principles.
.
Findings suggest that embedding TeamSTEPPS into undergraduate nursing education may strengthen communication skills and cultivate a safety-oriented mindset among new nurses. These results underscore the importance of academic-practice partnerships in fostering healthy work environments that empower nurses, mitigate burnout, and enhance patient care.
Notes
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck.
References:
American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2021). The Essentials: Core competencies for professional nursing education. Retrieved from: https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/AcademicNursing/pdf/Essentials-2021.pdf
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2019). Second victims: Support for clinicians involved in errors and adverse events. https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer/second-victims-support-clinicians-involved-errors-and-adverse-events
Christensen, J. F., Levinson, W., & Dunn, P. M. (1992). The heart of darkness. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 7(4), 424-431. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02599161Cooke, M., & Valentine, N. M. (2020). Improving teamwork and communication in schools of Nursing. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 36(3), 285–290. https://doi.org/10.1097/ncq.0000000000000513
Greene, D. A., & Doss, J. L. (2021). Developing teamwork skills in baccalaureate nursing students: Impact of teamstepps® training and simulation. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1515/ijnes-2020-0077
Hassen, A. E., Mohammed, F. A., Zakaria, A. M., & Ibrahim, I. A. (2024). Evaluating the Effect of TeamSTEPPS on Teamwork Perceptions and Patient Safety Culture among Newly Graduated Nurses. BCM Nursing, 23(170). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01850-y
Maguire, M. B., Bremner, M. N., Bennett, D. N., & VanBrackle, L. (2015). Evaluation of teamstepps integration across a curriculum regarding team attitudes: A longitudinal study. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 5(7). https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v5n7p131
Mahmood, L. S., Mohammed, C. A., & Gilbert, J. H. V. (2021). Interprofessional simulation education to enhance teamwork and communication skills among medical and nursing undergraduates using the teamstepps® framework. Medical Journal Armed Forces India, 77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mjafi.2020.10.026
Prothero, M. M., & Morse, J. M. (2023). Developing a taxonomy of medical errors and exploring the post-error recovery process: A QUAL à qual Mixed-Method Design. SSM-Qualitative Research in Health, 3. Article 100274 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2023.100274
Robertson, B., Kaplan, B., Atallah, H., Higgins, M., Lewitt, M. J., & Ander, D. S. (2010). The use of simulation and a modified TeamSTEPPS curriculum for medical and Nursing Student Team training. Simulation in Healthcare: The Journal of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare, 5(6), 332–337. https://doi.org/10.1097/sih.0b013e3181f008ad
Ross, J. G., Latz, E., Meakim, C. H., & Mariani, B. (2021). TeamSTEPPS curricular-wide integration. Nurse Educator, Publish Ahead of Print. https://doi.org/10.1097/nne.0000000000000999
The Joint Commission. (2017). Sentinel alert event. Inadequate hand-off communication. The Patient Safety Advisory Group, The Joint Commission. www.jointcommission.org
Sigma Membership
Iota Iota
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Mixed/Multi Method Research
Keywords:
Academic-Clinical Partnership, Interprofessional Initiatives, Teaching/Learning Strategies, Interinstitutional Relations, Interprofessional Relations, Teaching Methods, Learning Methods, Novice Nurses, Teamwork
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Daphne; Prothero, Marie M.; Rankin, Kambrie; and Lawrence, Amber, "Empowering Novice Nurses Through TeamSTEPPS: Cultivating a Culture of Safety and Communication" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 80.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2026/presentations_2026/80
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-05-04
Funder
Brigham Young University. College of Nursing
Empowering Novice Nurses Through TeamSTEPPS: Cultivating a Culture of Safety and Communication
Washington, DC, USA
Novice nurses are particularly vulnerable to medical errors, often hesitant to speak up for fear of appearing incompetent. Additionally, many healthcare professionals lack the communication skills necessary for promoting patient safety. To address this, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and The Joint Commission advocate for standardized communication tools such as TeamSTEPPS—an evidence-based framework designed to enhance team structure, leadership, situation monitoring, mutual support, and communication.
Recognizing the importance of these competencies, nurse educators in a College of Nursing integrated TeamSTEPPS across their undergraduate curriculum's didactic, clinical, and simulation settings. This initiative aligns with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) essentials, emphasizing leadership, quality improvement, and patient safety. The goal: to foster a culture of safety and teamwork that supports novice nurses as they transition into professional practice.
This study examines the impact of TeamSTEPPS training on the perceptions of communication and patient safety among undergraduate nursing students, evaluating its effectiveness in preparing them for real-world clinical environments.
Using a longitudinal mixed-methods design, a convenience sample of senior nursing students completed the TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire (T-TAQ) and the Health Professional Education in Patient Safety Survey (H-PEPSS) during their final semester and again one year post-graduation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore participants’ experiences with communication, near misses, and errors. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t-tests; qualitative data underwent thematic analysis.
Analysis reveals how graduates perceive the role of communication and teamwork in patient safety, and how these skills influence their confidence and effectiveness as novice nurses. Emerging themes from interviews provide deeper insight into the real-world application of TeamSTEPPS principles.
.
Findings suggest that embedding TeamSTEPPS into undergraduate nursing education may strengthen communication skills and cultivate a safety-oriented mindset among new nurses. These results underscore the importance of academic-practice partnerships in fostering healthy work environments that empower nurses, mitigate burnout, and enhance patient care.
Description
This study investigates the impact of integrating TeamSTEPPS into nursing education on improving communication and patient safety. Using surveys and interviews with students before and after graduation, preliminary findings suggest that integrating TeamSTEPPS enhances confidence and teamwork among novice nurses—key factors in creating healthier and safer work environments.