Physicians’ perceptions of followership in resuscitation in Japan and the USA: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVES: While leadership is accepted as a crucial aspect of a successful resuscitation team, the role of followership has not been sufficiently explored. This study aims to explore physicians’ perceptions of common favourable followership in resuscitation teams in two different countries. DESIGN: A qualitative study with interviews and a reflexive thematic analysis. SETTING: The authors individually interviewed critical care and emergency physicians whose clinical experience exceeded 6 years in Japan and the USA. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 18 physicians participated in a face-to-face, semistructured and in-depth interviews. RESULTS: Five themes and nine subthemes related to followership in resuscitation were identified. Under technical skills, two themes (being knowledgeable and skilled) and three subthemes (understanding guidelines/algorithms, clinical course and being competent with procedural skills), were generated. Under non-technical skills, three themes (assuming roles, team communication and flattening hierarchy) and six subthemes (taking roles spontaneously, calm tone of voice, sharing information, closed-loop communication, respectful attitude and speaking up), were generated. Each generated theme involved commonly perceived favourable attributes of followership in resuscitation teams by experienced critical care and emergency physicians in both countries. CONCLUSIONS: This study clarified physicians’ perception of common favourable followership attributes in resuscitation teams, both in Japan and in the USA. The results of this study shed light on followership-focused resuscitation education, where followership skills are generally underestimated.