Does size and location of the vital signs monitor matter? A study of two trauma centers.

We report the results of an observational study in which we compared how the size and location of the vital signs monitor impact teamwork at two trauma centers. Our observations focused on three factors: information exchange, situational awareness, and ergonomic issues. We found that the smaller display was difficult to view and required more team communication and workarounds, such as periodic verbal reports. The larger and closer display, although accessible to more team members, did not uniformly improve team's situational awareness because vital signals were not verbalized and the monitor was often ignored. We suggest introducing multiple larger and closer displays, while keeping the practice of periodic verbal reporting.