Health care professionals from different disciplines who share common patients and goals will often collaborate in an effort to improve the overall care-giving experience. Teamwork in health care is also evident in trauma centres and emergency rooms as doctors, nurses and administrators race to save a life. Through coordination, communication and responsibility, teamwork in the health care industry has many benefits.
Improved Quality of Care
When doctors and nurses from different disciplines are communicating effectively and working as a unit, the quality of care they give their patients increases. There is a consistency and thoroughness that can be lost when teamwork is not evident. In a trauma situation, teamwork can help detect problems that may have gone unnoticed and save a patient's life.
Improved Patient Safety
When teamwork is implemented in a health care situation, the patient becomes an active partner in his own treatment. Doctors and nurses listen, monitor and execute based on the patient's feedback and information. This in turn creates a safer environment for the patient in terms of medications and unnecessary procedures.
- Health care professionals from different disciplines who share common patients and goals will often collaborate in an effort to improve the overall care-giving experience.
- When teamwork is implemented in a health care situation, the patient becomes an active partner in his own treatment.
Stress Reduction
When many health care professionals collaborate and brainstorm about a patient's care, the workload is distributed more evenly and stress is reduced. This will also reduce burnout by doctors and nurses working long hours and seeing many patients.
- When many health care professionals collaborate and brainstorm about a patient's care, the workload is distributed more evenly and stress is reduced.
Increased Job Satisfaction
When everyone is working together as a team to accomplish a common goal, results will improve and people will be more satisfied with their professional life. When doctors and nurses work as a team and see patients get better faster, they will experience a heightened sense of pride and will look forward to going to work more each day.
More Effective Time Management
In the health care industry, teamwork equals efficiency. In so many medical situations, time is of the essence and solid teamwork will enable medical teams to manage their time more effectively. More patients will receive better care more often.
New Skills
When physicians and nurses who specialise in different areas are working in close proximity and communicating regularly, they are bound to learn new skills and expand their medical knowledge. If a heart specialist, dietitian and oncologist all get together to share ideas for treatment it can only benefit all involved.