We have all heard the cliché “there is no “I” in team.” Teamwork is of great importance in any workplace, especially in the emergency department (ED). The following events, which took place in my high-acuity trauma center, illustrate the importance of teamwork and its eminent success within minutes.
The radio room telephone rang in the ED and the mobile intensive care nurse picked up the phone. The paramedic told her, “We have a 29-year-old man involved in a motor vehicle accident. He was the driver of the vehicle, head-on collision. There is significant damage to the car. His Glasgow Coma Scale score is 4–6–4, and he is confused. He has decreased tidal volume with labored breathing. There is a chest wall contusion from the steering wheel; the patient is hypotensive and tachycardic. The estimated time of arrival to your hospital is 8 minutes.”
The nurse hung up the phone and...
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