What’s So Hot about Hot Debriefs?
“Hot Debriefs” are interactive, structured team dialogues that take place either immediately or very shortly after a clinical case. Our simple “STOP5: STOP for 5 Minutes” Hot Debrief framework was introduced a few years ago (you can read our previous blog post here: bit.ly/STOP5EEM). It continues to propagate to other departments and workplace settings around the world.
Why?
STOP5 is
• Quick;
• Simple;
• Can be facilitated by any member of the team;
• Has a self-explanatory framework & poster guide;
• Includes opportunities to record action plans & learning points.
Show me the poster…
STOP5: “STOP for 5 Minutes” Hot Debrief Model
Is it any good though?
Our teams certainly think so. We’ve collected lots of feedback and run multiple surveys since implementation and the results are pretty convincing.
Our review article was published in Clinical & Experimental Medicine in December 2020. You can find it here (bit.ly/STOP5ceem).
Dr Craig Walker was recently asked to present to Sydney HEMS on the topic. You can view his pre-recorded presentation here: https://www.loom.com/share/ce4e5d6ebd414cc9abe0a48c6ad2d84a
I don’t want to read a journal article and I definitely don’t want to watch that eejit. Just give me some headlines!
How rude. Fine, then...
At 6 months, 90% of our staff rated them as “Good” to “Excellent”. At 18-months, 100% of staff who had participated in STOP5 debriefs rated them as “Good” to “Excellent”:
By 6 months, 1/3 of staff were confident leading them, 2/3 were confident initiating them and 4/5 confident participating in them:
Is 5 minutes enough, though?
We performed 15 sequential video reviews of STOP5 Hot Debriefs. The average duration was 5.5 minutes.
Any tangible benefits other than people liking it?
I’d recommend not underestimating the importance of staff wellbeing. However, note that we also tracked “hard outcomes” for the first 12 months following implementation. We found 10 issues identified and reported via STOP5 Hot Debriefs. We listed the Interventions performed for each issue in our journal article (bit.ly/STOP5ceem). Essentially, every equipment/kit issue fixed within 1-3 days. Guidelines and flowcharts were all updated within a few days.
I bet your staff are all sick of it, eh?!
Nope. At 18 months, we asked “Should we do more or less STOP5 Hot Debriefs in the department?” 98% of respondents wanted us to do even MORE.
Okay, okay. You convinced me. Any parting words?
By performing Hot Debriefs in your department, you are sending a very clear message:
• You value your team’s wellbeing.
• You care about your their development.
• You are willing to learn and develop alongside them.
• You are committed to improving your processes and your working environment.
Please consider performing Hot Debriefs with your own teams.
If you would like more information about STOP5 Hot Debriefs, accompanying materials or would like to provide any feedback, please get in touch by contacting Craig either at Craig.A.Walker@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk or via Twitter (@CW_EM_ICM).