Team and Team work

Team work is one of the principles of quality improvement in health care services.

A Team is a group of people working together to achieve a common goal for which they share responsibility.

Team Work is the act of solving problems together in situation where all members have the ability to influence decisions and apply their strengths effectively.

When people work in teams, they increase the chances of combining their talents, skills and efforts hence increasing, the possibility of accomplishing the results that would otherwise not be able to achieve as individuals. Team work enables common people to achieve uncommon results. In the context of healthcare, team work results in higher quality health services.

Importance of Teamwork in Quality Improvement

Team work is increasingly advocated by health service policy makers as a means of assuring quality and safety in the delivery of services. Teams are important for delivery of quality health services for several reasons:

Mutual support and cooperation is often fostered when people work together on a project. This feeling of goodwill often leads to an increased commitment to make improvements.
Taking more perspective into consideration can create a more complete picture of the process or situation to be improved. While an individual might have knowledge gaps, a group of people will likely have a more complete understanding.
Team accomplishments often lead to increased confidence among individuals. Competence and confidence create an upward spiral whereby competence builds confidence and confidence builds competence.
When people help design a solution, they are more likely to embrace it. A proposed solution will meet with much less resistance if the people who will be impacted by the change have contributed to the development of the solution.
Team work reduces complexities regarding hierarchy.

A team approach is most effective when:

The process or system is complex
No one individual in an organization knows all the dimensions of an issue.
The process involves more than one discipline or work area.
Solutions require creativity
Staff commitment and buy-in is needed.

Team work is performed by

Committing to solve problems together, whereby members of the team bring in their different skills and knowledge to tackle a common problem. All members of a team have the ability to influence decisions and effectively apply their strengths.
The interaction or relationship between two or more health professionals who work interdependently to provide care for patients. Team work means members of the team are mutually dependent, they see themselves as working collaboratively for patients centered care, and they benefit from working collaboratively to provide patients centered care.

Team work is NOT a group of people with one star who does all the work, and it is not a group of people with a leader dictating what to do.

Team composition

The composition of a team depends on the task the team aims to accomplish, as the task will define the mix of skills and competency required. Usually, healthcare is provided by a team of health professionals each with specific and distinct competencies and skills. Generally, a quality improvement team in health facility is composed of members from different units in the health facility who are directly or indirectly involved in the service provision. For example, members will likely come from different department such as:

The management e.g. Administrator (s) or representative(s)
The clinical teams’ e.g. Providers from in-patient and out-patient departments or special clinics in the facility
Support services units or sections such as pharmacy
Laboratory, operating theatre, or medical records, etc.

Once a quality improvement team is composed, it is necessary for the team to establish team hierarchy by appointing some of the team members to fill the following positions:

Team leader who will be the overall coordinator of the team during implementation of improvement activity.
Team secretary/recorder responsible for organizing and scheduling team meetings as well as for recording proceedings from team meetings and handling communication between members, facility management and other stake holders.
Other specific roles can be identified for other team members as needs arise in consideration of the team’s objective.

Characteristics of an effective Team

Teams work most effective when they have a clear purpose, good communication, co-ordination, protocols and procedures, and effective mechanisms to resolve conflict when it arises. The active participation of all members is another key feature.

Successful teams recognize the professional and professional contributions of all members, promote individual development and team interdependence, recognize the benefits of working together, and take accountability. Characteristics of effective teams are:

Clear roles and responsibilities of each team member
Awareness of each others’ needs
Appreciation and recognition of individual efforts and contribution
Trusting team climate
Effective communication among team members

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Team and Team work in healthcare services

Team and Team work