Teamwork & Collaboration

Teamwork & Collaboration

The Nurse of the Future will function effectively within nursing and interdisciplinary teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, shared decision making, team learning, and development [Adapted from QSEN, 2007].

When you collaborate with other healthcare workers in a team approach everyone needs to be on the same page. The team’s number one goal is to put that patient front and center. The team will need to think outside the box in order to reach a common goal for this patient or client to understand what everyone is trying to accomplish. Plans are guided towards the common goal but need to be flexible. Everyone on the team needs to have a shared vision and share that plan with everyone that is collaborating. The team approach builds creativity within the team so that the message that needs to be received can be truly received and understood.

Teamwork is one of the most essential parts of the healthcare world. It has become the model for delivering healthcare to patients across the world (IntraHealth International , n.d.). Teamwork can be defined as two or more people that are working towards a common goal to treating patients. The research that has been completed shows that the underserved population, with limited access to healthcare, have received better treatment when all the health care workers come together, and collaborate as a team for the greater good of the patient. This can enhance patient safety, reduce medical errors, as well as ease patients concerns about what is happening to them during a time that can be confusing for any of us.

Communication, teamwork and collaboration are vital to our profession. With rural areas in Maine, it is so important to be able to speak with and collaborate with other medical professionals in order to give our patients the best possible care that we can offer them. Since I have been taking the RN-BSN classes I have started to look at things differently. I also find myself thinking things through before reacting in different life situations as well as professional situations. The BSN classes have given me an appreciation to collaborating with fellow healthcare providers.

References

IntraHealth International . (n.d.). Why is teamwork in Health Care Important. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from HRH Global Resource Center: https://www.hrhresourcecenter.org/HRH_Info_Teamwork.html