MN 7181 - People and organization - Team work in health care - ways to make it realistic ...
7181 - People and Organization - Team work in health care - Ways to make it realistic...
The word ‘team’ derived from an old German “traumaz” which meant “action of pulling” according to The oxford Dictionary of English Etymology(1966) and in old English it referred to ‘ a set of draft animals yoked together’. In fact the team was not relevant to humans until 16th century. However the current dictionary definition of a team is ‘a group collaborating in their professional work or in some enterprise of assignment’ according to The Oxford English Dictionary (2005).
The “ Team work” is a popular and wide accepted theme in the health care practices and considered as an important facilitator in achieving the quality health care internationally. However basic conceptual understanding about team work in health care settings is much criticized due to lack of understanding of basic conceptual framework. The appropriate common understanding with effective communication among team members ( doctors, nurses and allied health professionals) can imperatively improve the health care paradigms in the future. The definition is “ Team work in health care is a dynamic process involving two or more health professionals with complementary backgrounds and skills, sharing common health goals and exercising concerted physical and mental effort in assessing, planning or evaluating patient care” ( Xyrichis & Ream, 2007).
The challenge in team work in health care is how well it could be delivered with quality and safety. The extensive research on team training in health care has resulted in an a toolkit for optimal teamwork in clinical settings called TeamSTEPPS which stands for Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety. It has been extensively field tested in Military Health System ( Clancy and Tornberg, 2013).
The concept TeamSTEPPS promotes the competency in four core areas.
- Team leadership
- Situation Monitoring
- Mutual Support
- Communication
References
- Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology(1966), Clarendon Press,Oxford.
- Oxford Dictionary of English(2005), Oxford University press.
- Xyrichis A and Ream E (2008) , Team work: A concept Analysis, Journal of Advanced nursing 61(2), pp 232-241.
- Clancy C M and Tornberg D N (2007), TeamSTEPPS : Assuring optimal team work in clinical settings, American Journal of Medical Quality 22(3), pp 214-217.
- Begley C M (2009), Developing Interprofessional learning: Tactics, teamwork and talk, Nurse education today 29, pp 276-283.
Medicine X is a catalyst for new ideas about the future of medicine and health care. The initiative explores how emerging technologies will advance the practice of medicine, improve health, and empower patients to be active participants in their own care. The “X” is meant to encourage thinking beyond numbers and trends—it represents the infinite possibilities for current and future information technologies to improve health.
ReplyDeleteMedicine X is meant for reducing the communication gap between the doctors and patients. It helps the patients to make the right decision based on the evidence based knowledge rather than giving decision making power to the doctor as in case of most our patients. I think modern day doctors have crossed the borders to reduce this gap.
DeleteThe challenge we are having in health sector in Sri Lanka is the lack of understanding of team work for better patient care. Most of the specialists are reluctant to refer a patient to the relevant specialist. It is mainly due to lack of legitimate power of the patients. In Sri Lanka the patients can win a case against a doctor very rarely. So there is a little reluctance in mismanaging a patient with outdated knowledge.
For a number of reasons teamwork became an important health intervention. Healthcare teamwork uses integrated and improved collaboration strategies to extend healthcare workers ' traditional roles and make decisions as a collective working towards a common goal.
ReplyDeleteTeam approach undoubtedly improves safety and quality. Something I am trying to convince my subordinates everyday. Although they will understand this principle it is difficult to think that some of the senior colleagues will. They only query the importance in team work in the undergraduate exams and postgraduate exams to catch the students I suppose. But it is not in their practice.
DeleteTeamwork in healthcare is vitally important to patient treatment, care and safety. The better the members of a healthcare team are able to work together, the better they are able to provide the best quality patient care possible.
ReplyDeleteWonderful topic Doctor! you have given comprehensive illustration on the word of team which is good knew, i totally agree that team work in health care is a dynamic process, i have seen how they work hard as team in many situations, and as per the Clancy and Tornberg, 2013 you have talked about the STEPPS which recommended for health industry, in a conclusion i should say this article is very valuable to all members, you have worked hard to bridge psycological contract to health industry
ReplyDeleteteamwork is the concept of people working together agreeably, supporting each other in arrange to endeavor towards a common goal.
ReplyDeleteTeam work is very important for all sectors.
ReplyDeletespecially in health sector it is a must.
Team work is a combined action of a group. Health sector is not an exemption to that. In other words, health sector needs co-operation of all employees (such as doctors, nurses, attendants etc) to provide an efficient service.
ReplyDeleteManagement support also plays a critical role in introducing and promoting teamwork in any organization (Cohen & Bailey, 1997; Orsburn, et al., 1990) and readily influences and controls the design of teams to ensure effective organizational outcomes (Magjuka and Baldwin, 1991).
ReplyDeleteTeam work support to easily achieve organizational task. good article.
ReplyDeleteAn effective team is a one where the team members, including the patients, communicate with each other, as well as merging their observations, expertise and decision-making responsibilities to optimize patients' care
ReplyDelete