Health care teams and collaboration

Health Care Teams and Collaboration

Delivery system of a health system depends on numerous interfaces and multiple practitioners. There are different health care practitioners in a health care institution depending on their field of practice and their level of education. During a four-day period in a health care institution, a patient may have a chance to interact with 50 different employees of the institution. These employees are nurses, physicians, technical staff and others. For efficiency of nursing practice, critical information communications need to be accurate and precise. Therefore, this means that team communication and collaboration are essential. If teams in a healthcare organization do not communicate, the patients are at risk of injury or death due to poor care (Reeves, Zwarenstein & Goldman, 2009). Lack of a clear communication structure in the institution may result to medical errors. A medical error may occur because of lack of critical information or misinterpretation of the same information.

In today's healthcare organizations, medical errors caused by communication inefficiencies are a threat to patients. A report prepared by the Joint commission (JCHAO) states that medical errors are among the major causes of death in the healthcare system. According to the Institute of Medicine report of the year 1999: "To Erris Human: Building a safer Healthcare system." Approximately, 44000-98000 individuals die every year because of medical errors. The Joint commission explains that the root causes of these errors are due to communication problems within teams. These forms of errors may be a delay in treatment post of operative falls or events or wrongful surgeries. Medical education wishes to promote error-free diagnosis and treatment (Cooper, 2011). Therefore, an error in a medical practice may mean failures in the health care system.

Interdisciplinary and Intra-disciplinary Teams

Interdisciplinary in nursing would involve individual from a variety of fields, for example, nurses, surgeons or physicians. Intra-disciplinary, nevertheless, centers on one occupation in healthcare, for example, nurses. Functions of each member are crucial for patient's recovery. Efforts of all team members are essential for quality services in a healthcare institution. Therefore, communication interlinks these members. Communication is the interchange of thoughts, opinions, and signs or in writing among people. Information flow by way of mouth, use of expression or signs, however, crucial information passes by way of writing. Handwritten notes, text messages or emails, can lead to consequences in case of miscommunication (Reeves, Zwarenstein & Goldman, 2009).

Communication Skills Held By Successful Teams

Successful teams need communication skills among members. The communication skills include means at which a professional can pass information to patients and other team members. Some of the skills held by team members are writing, reading, phone etiquette and speech. Collaborative health care or teamwork is where professionals complement their roles, carry out plans for patients and share the responsibility of making decisions and solving problems (Cooper, 2011). Collaboration efforts of nurses, physicians and other professionals encourage awareness among team members leading to an improvement in making decisions. An effective team values respect; trust, collaboration and it is crucial that the team acts together to achieve a common goal while having the same aim. An inter-disciplinary approach differs from the multidisciplinary approach where an individual is responsible for one task only. However, an interdisciplinary approach promotes joint efforts of practitioners on behalf of the patient. Collaboration of these specialized services leads to joint interventions. The patient finds it easier to communicate in a cohesive team than with numerous medical professionals.

There are many hurdles to overcome in order for teams to gain collaborative status. These kinds of hurdles include lack of confidence, lack of awareness or knowledge and skills held by these professionals. The first step towards overcoming the challenge is the change in attitude, feelings to attain mutual respect. The components of a successful team are clear direction, open communication, a safe environment and clearly defined tasks for team members. Team communication is necessary for ensuring success (Reeves, Zwarenstein & Goldman, 2009).

The Role of Teams in Nursing Empowerment and Patient Empowerment

The role of teams in empowering nursing professionals and patients in a patients' centered care system is important. For positive results, patients and nursing professionals need empowering. Empowerment improves performance of professional and encourages patients to heal. Therefore, managers of nursing institutions must be aware of the role of empowering to promote work and retain workers. Nursing professionals empowering can be increasing job satisfaction, improving the working environment (Holmstrom & Roing, 2010). These forms of empowerment include workplace empowerment and work engagement. Work engagement relates to the attitude of a worker towards tasks and relates to personal mental status towards work. Patients, on the other hand, need to be empowered through therapies that encourage.

Workplace empowerment takes a variety of options. Some of these strategies of empowerment may be structural empowerment, professional development. Structural empowerment relates to improving the working conditions, compensation levels and working time or schedule (Holmstrom & Roing, 2010). Empowerment is important since it promotes work, encourage work, reduce errors and in retention of workers.

The Role of Teams in Professional Nursing Development

In a nursing profession, teams are very crucial in promoting healthcare. Teams are groups of people with a variety of skills and level of knowledge. Each member works individually for the aim of the organization. In a nursing profession, every disciple is integral for care. The physician provides intervention while it is the task of the nurse or a therapist to carry out care to patients. Any changes in patient's condition need sharing among teams; in some situations a physician need to be present. Hospitalists are professions who are competent in their tasks and can liaison with either the nurse or the physician attending. Hospitalists are at all times at the hospital. When attending to patients, hospitalist physicians and nurses' actions save lives (Holmstrom & Roing, 2010).

Every discipline in a healthcare system is important to patients' care, therefore; their teamwork is very crucial. Each team member plays a part in healthcare by communicating and performing specialized tasks. Team members' works together to encourage one another and perform functions together. Through this interaction, members get a chance to other's strength and weakness as well as theirs. Leadership is essential in effective direction of team action. The objective of a nursing team is to provide quality care to patients while utilizing abilities of every member (Kurtzman & Naylor, 2010).