Effective teamwork provides the framework to utilize and highlight each member’s skills to best coordinate patient needs. It is the foundation of patient care and satisfaction. Members of an efficient team must know when to defer to each other and how to delegate tasks when needed. They must trust each other to intervene if a mistake is about to be made and must be fearless in providing constructive feedback when a situation calls for it.
Why Teamwork Is Important in Healthcare
When members of a nursing team work well together, they achieve success for the whole team. Nursing can be a grueling job that does not always end when eight hours are up. Teamwork is the one component that can make it worthwhile.
Characteristics of an Efficient Nursing Team
The efficient nursing team is one that works well together to promote the highest quality of patient care. Members of the team perform in conjunction with each other, doctors, and administration to achieve daily objectives, including:
- Communicating effectively with every member of the team, with other members of the medical staff, and with patients and their families
- Staying highly organized throughout the day
- Continually improving knowledge of medication, procedures, and patient care
- Improving nursing skills in leadership and collaboration
- Educating patients and their families
- Developing a beneficial bedside manner
- Nursing mentorship from leaders within the team
Advantages of an Effective Team
Not only does effective teamwork make for a more enjoyable workday for everyone involved, but it offers some additional distinct advantages, including:
Higher Job Satisfaction for Nurses
Everyone wants to work in an environment that is relaxed and welcoming, and most people enjoy working with others with whom they have a good rapport. When you feel you can talk honestly and openly with other members of your nursing team, you experience higher levels of job satisfaction. When you can count on others to provide honest and constructive feedback and are able to provide it in return, the lines of communication remain open and beneficial to all involved.
Lower Job Turnover Rate
Once you have experienced excellence of teamwork in healthcare, it is likely you will want to remain in that job environment for as long as possible. Effective teamwork and healthy communication both contribute to lower turnover rates among nurses. Members of the team are happier, more efficient, and experience higher levels of job satisfaction as a result.
Improved Engagement in the Workplace
When you engage with others, you learn from them. Perhaps more importantly, this gives you the opportunity to be a role model, as well. Improved engagement means coworkers get along well together. They care about each other and want each other to succeed. It also means the lines of communication run in two directions, both up and down the administrative ladder.
Better Communication Among Staff
Teamwork in healthcare means members of your team feel comfortable sharing information. Feedback is taken and given in constructive ways so that everyone benefits. Patient care levels improve, as a result, and no nurse is made to feel as though they are out of the loop.
Improved Patient Satisfaction and Outcome
The ultimate goal in nursing is to provide the best patient outcomes possible. You must get along well with other members of your team, but at the end of the day what really matters most is how well you have cared for your patients.
Difference Between Teamwork and Collaboration in Nursing
While many use the terms “teamwork” and “collaboration” interchangeably, in nursing the two have very different meanings. Teamwork happens within the nursing team. Collaboration happens as a result of your nursing team’s interaction with other departments. Both are vital in maintaining high levels of patient care. What this means for you and your team is that you must work to get along well together as individuals. However, you must also strive, as a team, to get along well with other entities. This may include administrators, doctors and residents, other medical departments, and your assistants.
How to Promote Teamwork in Nursing?
The best way to promote effective teamwork in healthcare is to begin honing your skills in communication. Learning how to express yourself clearly, without anger or prejudice, will take you far. Effective communication is a skill that must be routinely practiced and refined. It comes easier for some than it does for others, but it should be a common goal for those who work in healthcare.
Next, clarity and transparency play big roles. By expressing yourself openly and honestly with no hidden agenda, your words find better reception. Others will be more inclined to listen to your advice if you have a clear reason for offering it. And when the roles on your team are clear and well-defined, everyone knows their responsibilities. Misunderstandings are kept to a minimum, and no one gets their feelings hurt.
Finally, it is important to embrace change and to practice adaptability. No two days are ever the same within the healthcare industry. Being able to adjust quickly without losing ground is a skill that will benefit both you and your team in multiple ways.
Are you considering earning your advanced degree in nursing? There is no better time than today and no greater need for dedicated nurses than there is right now. The world has a desperate need for nurses, and you might be the one best able to answer the call.
Advanced nursing programs at Post University offer a dynamic, informative curriculum that prepares students to excel at careers within the healthcare field. Along with gaining the academic knowledge needed to provide excellent levels of patient care, graduates of the American Sentinel College of Nursing & Health Science at Post University learn the basics of teamwork in nursing, too.
Thank you for reading! The views and information provided in this post do not reflect Post University programs and/or outcomes directly. If you are interested in learning more about our programs, you can find a complete list of our programs on our website or reach out directly!