• Lianne Jeffs, Ilona Alex Abramovich, Chris Hayes, Orla Smith, Deborah Tregunno, Wai-Hin Chan, and Scott Reeves.
• Keenan Research Centre of the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St Michael's Hospital, Early Nursing Research Career Award, Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, , Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• BMJ Qual Saf. 2013 Nov 1; 22 (11): 923-30.

IntroductionEffective teamwork and interprofessional collaboration are vital for healthcare quality and safety; however, challenges persist in creating interprofessional teamwork and resilient professional teams. A study was undertaken to delineate perceptions of individuals involved with the implementation of an interprofessional patient safety competency-based intervention and intervention participants.MethodsThe study employed a qualitative study design that triangulated data from interviews with six steering committee members and five members of the project team who developed and monitored the intervention and six focus groups with clinical team members who participated in the intervention and implemented local patient safety projects within a large teaching hospital in Canada.ResultsOur study findings reveal that healthcare professionals and support staff acquired patient safety competencies in an interprofessional context that can result in improved patient and work flow processes. However, key challenges exist including managing projects amidst competing priorities, lacking physician engagement and sustaining projects.ConclusionsOur findings point to leaders to provide opportunities for healthcare teams to engage in interprofessional teamwork and patient safety projects to improve quality of patient care. Further research efforts should examine the sustainability of interprofessional safety projects and how leaders can more fully engage the participation of all professions, specifically physicians.

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