| Abstract [eng] |
Gintarė Bartkuvienė. Master’s Thesis: Teamwork in Providing Emergency Medical Care in Cases of Cardiac Arrhythmias. Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Almeda Kučinskienė. Consultant: Lecturer Oksana Misiūnienė. Vilnius University, Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Nursing. Vilnius, 2026. Introduction. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide. A significant proportion of life-threatening conditions consists of cardiac arrhythmias, which may lead to sudden cardiac arrest and require immediate emergency medical care. Initial management of these conditions often takes place in the prehospital setting. Teamwork within emergency medical services is important for patients’ clinical outcomes and survival. The objective – to investigate teamwork in the provision of emergency medical care in cases of cardiac arrhythmias. Research objectives: 1. To determine the distribution of team members roles when providing emergency medical care in cases of cardiac arrhythmias. 2. To identify the factors influencing effective teamwork when providing care in cases of cardiac arrhythmias. 3. To identify the challenges of teamwork encountered when providing emergency medical care in cases of cardiac arrhythmia. Research methods. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was selected for the research. The interview questionnaire was developed following an analysis of scientific literature. Ethical principles were followed throughout the study. The collected data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. The study was conducted in March 2025. Participants included 3 physicians, 7 emergency nursing specialists, and 5 paramedics. Study results. Healthcare professionals working in emergency medical service teams have clearly distributed roles. Each team has a leader who assigns tasks to the remaining team members. Factors determining effective teamwork include the ability to distribute tasks, collaboration, communication, adherence to algorithms, and work experience. The main challenges experienced in teamwork are communication errors, fatigue, professional uncertainty, and differences in work experience. Conclusions. The work of emergency medical service teams is based on a clear distribution of roles among team members. Effective teamwork is determined by the team leader, work experience, and team structure, including a sufficient number of members. Challenges in teamwork include heavy workload, professional uncertainty, communication errors, and technical difficulties. Keywords: teamwork, emergency medical care, cardiac arrhythmias, team leader. |
