Figure 1 Model of intraoperative teamwork between surgeon (S) and scrub nurse (N). This represents the traditional surgeon‐nurse set up where the surgeon conducts surgery with the assistance of the scrub nurse. The surgeon requests instruments and swabs (objects  =  O) and the nurse provides and confirms them. The two‐way arrows between the nurse and surgeon represent this exchange of information and object. The vertical arrows represent the action of the nurse or surgeon on the object or patient (P), respectively. The diagonal arrows with broken lines show that the surgeon is able to bypass the circuit of object exchange between surgeon and nurse—for example, in taking instruments from an instrument tray. The nurse is also able to remove instruments or objects from the patient and to tend to other aspects of surgery such as untangling tubes and wires from equipment.