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The author figures out the challenges in interdisciplinary teamwork among healthcare providers. These challenges are worth attention if we hope to do well in interdisciplinary teamwork.

This article discusses how interdisciplinary teamwork is experienced at three levels: healthcare professionals, patients, and healthcare organizations.

The points made by the author - reaching decisions collectively, making sure everyone is committed to the same purpose and goal, full participation, understanding the work of other disciplines - can be applied in any type of teamwork setting for successful outcomes. However, with healthcare the author points out that effective teamwork can lead to decreasing health care costs, improved patient safety, and decreasing workload through shared responsibilities. All areas that can allow for better patient care and more efficient use of time and financial resources.

This report summarizes the current understanding of teamwork, describes interventions designed to improve teamwork, and makes practical recommendations for hospitals to assess and improve teamwork-related performance. Examples of interventions that have successfully improved teamwork include the following: localization of physicians, daily goals-of-care forms and checklists, teamwork training, and interdisciplinary rounds.

Interdisciplinary Teamwork article

Interdisciplinary team work is a complex process in which different types of staff work together to share expertise, knowledge, and skills to impact on patient care. Despite increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary team work over the past decade, in particular the growth of interdisciplinary education [ 1], there is little evidence as to the most effective way of delivering interdisciplinary team work [ 2].

Interdisciplinary team work is a complex process in which different types of staff work together to share expertise, knowledge, and skills to impact on patient care. Despite increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary team work over the past decade, in particular the growth of interdisciplinary education [ 1], there is little evidence as to the most effective way of delivering interdisciplinary team work [ 2].

challenges with interdisciplinary teamwork in hospitals and way to improve it

This article discusses the importance of teamwork in hospitals and provides key elements for highly functioning teams.

For fifty years, health care teams have been a misunderstood, undervalued, and neglected part of health care. Yet, as Drinka and Clark make clear, well functioning interdisciplinary health care teams (IHCTs) have the potential to help the health care system face its demons--financial constraints and comprehensive error-free care. Because of misunderstandings, administrators, funders, and policy makers keep the potential for interdisciplinary teams hidden. IHCTs have characteristics and problems that are unique to health care settings and the health providers who work in them. Drinka and Clark present a groundbreaking attempt to develop a comprehensive framework for IHCTs.

The examination of inter-professional relationships and the effect these have on teams and teamwork is extensive. In much of the literature, concepts have been studied separately, and so the linkages to contexts and the broader socio-historical background were notable for their absence. The picture of teams, their work and process is skewed, as emphasis on one topic is often at the expense of another. Conceptual rigour is required if we are to understand what we are talking about.

The examination of inter-professional relationships and the effect these have on teams and teamwork is extensive. In much of the literature, concepts have been studied separately, and so the linkages to contexts and the broader socio-historical background were notable for their absence. The picture of teams, their work and process is skewed, as emphasis on one topic is often at the expense of another. Conceptual rigour is required if we are to understand what we are talking about.

This article reviewed several different studies on interdisciplinary care and looked for ways that we can improve on health care and implement better teamwork. What I found most interesting is that the article talks about how educating staff on the benefits of teamwork is seriously lacking. Two issues are emerging in health care as clinicians face the complexities of current patient care: the need for specialized health professionals, and the need for these professionals to collaborate. Interdisciplinary health care teams with members from many professions answer the call by working together, collaborating and communicating closely to optimize patient care.

This article finds two emerging issues that must be addressed to optimize patient care: "the need for specialized health professionals, and the need for these professionals to collaborate." In nursing we talk a lot about "continuity of care" and that a seamless transition between PCPs, specialists, in-patient, and out-patient services is not only good-practice but vital for thorough health care delivery and improving long term outcomes.

Approximately 70 to 80% of healthcare errors are due to poor team communication and understanding. High-risk environments such as the trauma setting (which covers a broad spectrum of departments in acute services) are where the majority of these errors occur. Despite the emphasis on interprofessional collaborative practice and patient safety, interprofessional teamworking in the trauma setting has received little attention.

Teamwork in the Emergency Department

A study that looks at several ways to promote Interdisciplinary teamwork in a virtual environment

Caregiver perceptions of teamwork in L&D

This article is a comprehensive overview of dementia care; scroll about 1/3rd down for multidisciplinary teamwork which is later captured in the discussion about treatment options as well.

This article presents a team practice model and team building. Good interdisciplinary teamwork requires goals, knowledge, trust between each other, communication, conflict resolution, and so on.

Teamwork

Teamwork makes the Dream Work Woo Haa!

Article showing an application of teamwork in a primary care setting to develop a behavior health intervention. See the abstract below! J Am Board Fam Med. 2015 Sep-Oct;28 Suppl 1:S21-31. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2015.S1.150042. Abstract PURPOSE: This paper sought to describe how clinicians from different backgrounds interact to deliver integrated behavioral and primary health care, and the contextual factors that shape such interactions. METHODS: This was a comparative case study in which a multidisciplinary team used an immersion-crystallization approach to analyze data from observations of practice operations, interviews with practice members, and implementation diaries. The observed practices were drawn from 2 studies: Advancing Care Together, a demonstration project of 11 practices located in Colorado; and the Integration Workforce Study, consisting of 8 practices located across the United States. RESULTS: Primary care and behavioral health clinicians used 3 interpersonal strategies to work together in integrated settings: consulting, coordinating, and collaborating (3Cs). Consulting occurred when clinicians sought advice, validated care plans, or corroborated perceptions of a patient's needs with another professional. Coordinating involved 2 professionals working in a parallel or in a back-and-forth fashion to achieve a common patient care goal, while delivering care separately. Collaborating involved 2 or more professionals interacting in real time to discuss a patient's presenting symptoms, describe their views on treatment, and jointly develop a care plan. Collaborative behavior emerged when a patient's care or situation was complex or novel. We identified contextual factors shaping use of the 3Cs, including: time to plan patient care, staffing, employing brief therapeutic approaches, proximity of clinical team members, and electronic health record documenting behavior. CONCLUSION: Primary care and behavioral health clinicians, through their interactions, c

An article that discusses how emotional intelligence may affect interdisciplinary team effectiveness.

Interdisciplinary teamwork across industries

The article examines essential characteristics of effective teams. In particular, they identify the following as core characteristics of effective teams and effective team members: - Clear purpose - Clearly delineated member roles that aren't too rigid - Address poor performers efficiently - Communicate about individual & group strengths & weaknesses - Trust one another