Objective: In surgical environments, work must be flexible, allowing practitioners to seek help when required. How surgeons navigate the complexity of interprofessional teams and collaborative care whilst attending to their own knowledge/skill gaps can be difficult. This study aims to understand helping behaviours in interprofessional surgical teams.
Design: Thirteen semi-structured interviews with participants were completed. Data collection and inductive analysis were conducted iteratively using thematic analysis.
Results: We found several intersecting features that influenced helping engagement. Work context, including nested and cross-sectional identities, physical and hierarchical environments, diversity, support for risk-taking and innovation and perceptions of a "speak up" culture shaped the way helping scenarios were approached. Intrinsic attributes influenced decisions to dis/engage. When united, these features shaped how helping behaviours became enacted.
Conclusion: If we desire to create surgical teams that deliver quality care, we must consider not only individual attributes but the context in which teams are situated.
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