Teamwork In Health Care

“Team effectiveness is an evaluation of the outcomes of team performance” (Salas, Cooke & Rosen, 2008, p.541).

Teamwork should be a fundamental element of healthcare because of the huge impact it has on the quality and safety of patient care. Teamwork is defined as a distinct group of people who network together interdependently and dynamically towards a shared goal (Fiscella, Mauksch, Bodenheimer & Salas, 2017). According to Bendaly and Bendaly (2012), the consequences of a highly functioning team effectively working together have been linked to improved patient outcomes, increased quality care and better overall patient experience.

Therefore, ensuring patient safety is effective needs to be a significant priority in the culture of every

I will use a set of evidence-based criteria to assess the effectiveness of the two teams I am currently working in. Finally I will reflect on myself as a team member and how I can enhance the effectiveness of the two teams I am a part of while reflecting also on the other members of my teams.

Critical review of literature on team effectiveness

Bendaly and Bendaly (2012) suggest that there are seven essential elements that contribute to the success of a team and the provision of outstanding patient care. The elements comprise of open communication, cohesiveness, change compatibility, a healthy climate, shared leadership and shared learning. One finding was that if any one of the components is missing or weak then team effectiveness is challenged and quality of patient care will be impacted.

Similarly, Salas, Sims and Burke (2005) submit there are five core components known as “the big five” that are required for effective teamwork, these include adaptability, backup behavior, team orientation, team leadership and mutual performance monitoring. Additionally they argue that there are three coordinating mechanisms that support the “big five”. They encompass shared mental modes, mutual trust and lastly closed-loop

It is of note that all of the components I will discuss are not effective on their own, but when used together enhance team effectiveness to the greatest degree.

Open Communication

It has been noted that when teams communicate effectively and high levels of cooperation, collaboration and participation are present within the members the overall team effectiveness is greater. Dingley, Daugherty, Derieg, & Persing (2008), found that the consequence of effective open communication between nurses and physicians and between other healthcare members is instrumental in prevention of patient harm and ends with more positive results in patient outcomes.

Current research released that one of the primary causes of patient harm from medical errors is ineffective communication among the team of medical professionals. The joint commission disclosed that over 70 percent of sentinel incidents were from failures in communication (Dingley, Daugherty, Derieg, & Persing,