Collaboration is essential in every medical unit because it ensures a smooth flow of care to patients while also ensuring safety and patient satisfaction. This article is on nursing, namely collaboration and communication in the field. An appendix to the study discusses the planning of a nursing team meeting.
Inadequate collaboration and communication breakdowns frequently result in patient carelessness and safety problems. Proper and effective communication results in successful teamwork, which increases patient safety. Most of the medical errors usually occur not because of lack of technical knowledge is lacking but due to poor communication and or poor teamwork. Proper communication requires closed-loop communication where both the sender and receiver of a message confirm what the message (Robson 2016).
Teamwork that promotes patient safety depends on staff in a department working together since patient care is a team activity. Mutual support among team members also enhances teamwork as they have each other’s back. The offering, asking and accepting help goes a long way in helping team members in their workload. Failures to offer, ask and accept help result into falling behind workload and raise the risk of errors (Robson 2016).
To promote effective teamwork there should be a situational awareness of the environment the team is actually functioning. In this case, it is imperative that team members hear each other’s observations as opposed to where there are contrasting mental models that are shared (Robson 2016).
A successful teamwork entails an approachable leadership. In cases where team members feel uncomfortable sharing or raising their concerns with the team leader, there will be grave errors. The leadership of the team must be effective in monitoring team members and make the group more team-oriented in their activities (Nurse Journal n.d)
Collaboration between nurses has greater outcomes more so with patients who are hospitalized. Patients who medical needs are complex need more care than other patients and consequently, the numbers of caregivers rise. In this case, proper communication and teamwork are important to avoid errors while administering treatment to such patients. This collaboration will be the determining factor of the patients getting well (Hartgerink, Cramm, Bakker, Eijsden, Mackenbach & Nieboer 2013)
Effective coordination among team members is attributed to the quality of communication among team members. Coordination among nurses also helps them teach each other as every person has their own area of expertise. Team meetings are equally important as it present team members with an avenue of airing the issues and concerns (Hartgerink, Cramm, Bakker, Eijsden, Mackenbach & Nieboer 2013)
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is proper to say that teamwork entails many things such as coordination, meetings, good leadership and a strong support system among team members. In all these, communication is important for a realization of successful teamwork.
Appendix
Agenda for Nursing Team Meeting
Who do you feel should be present at the meeting? Explain your reasoning.
The people I feel should be at the meeting include the different heads of department as they as better placed to disseminate information to people under them.
Who do you feel should lead this team meeting? Provide your rationale.
The manager should lead this team meeting since he is the overall leader of the entire medical facility. The issue of uncooperativeness among staff is sensitive as it has direct impacts on patients and the hospital will be liable.
List three tasks from your patient assignments that you can delegate to the Unlicensed Assistive Personnel (UAP) and justify why these activities can be delegated.
The tasks that I can assign the UAP include feeding patients, checking vital signs of patients and patient transportation. The activities are minor tasks and they do not require special expertise to perform.
List three items from the agenda that you feel should be covered to improve collaboration and patient-centered care and provide a rationale for each one
Proper and effective communications as most of the medical errors usually occur due to poor communication. Sharing medical information among nurses as it helps them teach each other since areas of expertise are different. There should be mutual support among team members in order to share workload if needed.
List three rules of communication that the leader should communicate to the team
Communication should be proper and effective.
There should be confirming of messages after they have been communicated. This requires closed-loop communication where both the sender and receiver of a message confirm the message.
If there are any concerns, they should be effectively communicated to the relevant person.
How could you make better use of your nursing team to improve workload demands and patient care
Since patient care, is a team activity, working together and mutual support among team members is important. Therefore, offering, asking and accepting help goes a long way in helping team members in their workload.
References
J.M Hartgerink, J. C. (2013, August 26). The Importance of Multidisciplinary Teamwork and Team Climate for relational Coordination Among Teams Delivering Care to Older Patients. Retrieved September 16, 2017, from Wiley Online Library: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jan.12233/full
Journal, N. (n.d.). When Nursing Teamwork Suffers. Retrieved September 16, 2017, From Nurse Journal: http://nursejournal.org/community/when-nursing-teamwork-suffers/
Robinson, W. (2016, December 12). Tools and Techniques to Improve Teamwork and Avoid Patient Harm. Nursing Times, pp. 24-27.
