Effective Communication And Team Work

A team can simply be described as more than one person working together to find the answers of a common goal (Bannister, Wickenheiser, & Keegan, 2014). There are benefits in using a team to problem solve because each individual that is involved brings their own wisdom, knowledge, and unique perspective to the team effort. When you are working in a healthcare setting, you find yourself part of many different types of teams often all at the same time to better service the needs of the patient and improve patient outcomes. No matter which role you play on the team, understanding the elements that are needed to make a team effective is often the difference in team success and team failure. Schofield (2005) suggest that there are several

For successful interactions the team should have clear boundaries and objectives with each individual team members task responsibilities clearly defined. All members should be actively involved and have the ability to showcase their own ideas in planning, problem solving and decision making. The concepts and behavioral framework that describe team interaction is considered to be a multifaceted structure that provides guidelines to help the team collaboratively complete the project. Rousseau, Aubé, & Savoie (2006) suggest that there numerous behaviors that are associated with team interactions. Some of the positive traits are good listening skills, trust, respect, and the ability to share information and knowledge openly. Some of the undesirable traits include aggression, lack of support, selfish attitudes, and showing prejudices. Schofield (2005) suggests that teams should provide a framework that is based on concepts such

Communication is an essential part of effective teamwork and often is an important predictor of a team’s success. Most often it is communication failures that cause inadvertent patient harm. Successful teams start with energy and engagement along with the will to ensure that team members have an open avenue of communication and feel safe enough to speak up and voice concerns, differences of opinions, and areas out of their realm of knowledge confident that members will value their contribution (Leggat, 2007). Team members must be willing to also receive constructive criticism as well as provide genuine feedback. Best practices often include the added responsibility to team members to confirm that they are aware of their responsibilities and acknowledged the instructions in a way that all members understand their acceptable of accountability (Bannister, Wickenheiser, & Keegan,