Why Is Teamwork Important In Healthcare

In the healthcare world, every discipline is integral. Each discipline plays a part and each care provider is part of a team. Achieving the desired patient outcome rests on teamwork and effective communication. In nursing, when teamwork is emphasized and valued, every member works together to meet their patients’ needs with improved patient outcomes as their common goal (Ward, 2013). Teamwork is a key component of many professions and when employees feel as if they are part of a unit, relevant outcomes are improved. Nurses report enhanced job satisfaction and patient care outcomes are met. According to Buchbinder and Thompson (2012), some of the benefits of effective teamwork include, better care coordination, efficient time management, and higher job and patient satisfaction. Other positive outcomes with

The benefits of teamwork stem largely from the facts that there are several people on a team that interact a great deal. Therefore, a team is often able to generate a wider range of innovative ideas than an equal number of individuals working alone (Landry & Erwin, 2015). Team members can also discuss these ideas among themselves, which allows them to improve and build on initial thoughts, bringing about more innovation than individuals do. In addition, various team members will bring different skill sets and personalities to the team, allowing a team to be diverse and versatile.

Another benefit of having a number of individuals working closely together has to do with motivation and morale. Working with a team can give an individual a greater sense of purpose and of belonging. When individuals feel this way, they will often have greater motivation to work hard because they feel good about their work environment. For all of these reasons, well-made teams can add more value to an organization than individuals working alone can (Landry & Erwin,