Training for the Big Call: How Emergency Teams Can Build Better Performance Under Pressure

The hardest calls fall apart when communication is unclear, roles blur, feedback feels personal, and the team starts working around each other instead of with each other. Today, Ross and Will talk with Dr. Daryl Johnson, Adult Trauma Medical Director for the UNC Health Trauma Program, about what it takes to build teams that can perform consistently under pressure, how leaders can manage disagreements without shutting down valuable input, and why relationships built during ordinary shifts matter. Dr. Johnson also shares how UNC uses shared processes, simulation, video review, coaching, and deliberate repetition to create consistency across an ever-changing team, and why excellence has to become something clinicians practice on ordinary cases rather than something they hope to switch on for a big one. In this episode, you’ll learn: What a question or disagreement from a teammate may signal about a leader How reviewing “game film” can help clinicians recognize their own blind spots  Why lower-acuity calls are an opportunity to rehearse the habits you’ll need during a resuscitation What “smooth is fast” really means when the goal is to reduce chaos    Resources: Want more? Sign up for our weekly newsletter, The Confidence Dispatch. Want individualized coaching and mentorship? Check out The Loud & Clear Fellowship. Just have a question and want some personalized help? Book a free coaching call with us. UNC Health Trauma Program TeamSTEPPS Guests: Dr. Daryl Johnson, Adult Trauma Medical Director, UNC Health Trauma Program