2 Reps

Focus on Teamwork in Patient Care

Teamwork is extremely important in healthcare. I played college baseball and I can relate to how necessary teamwork is in almost every aspect of life. There are certain professions where someone working individually can be successful, but I would say 85% of the time teamwork will outwork an individual. I can relate the healthcare workforce to a baseball team. Not one person is more important than the other and it takes everyone to be successful. If one person fails at their job, then the overall goal will either fail or not be as successful. It starts from coaches recruiting players to practice to actual performance on the field. What happens off the field also affects what happens on the field. Now, let’s relate this to healthcare. It starts with recruiting the right employees for the job. Not everyone can do or have what it takes to do every job at a health facility. Certain people are better at certain things and that is where recruiting comes into play. It is also important to find the right people with the right mentality and overall goes as your organization. People with different beliefs about certain things will not always collaborate well with current employees or goals of the system. “The biggest daily challenge confronting health care leaders at every level -- and an ongoing subject throughout this book -- is maximizing the performance of their staff” (Pynes, Lombardi, 2011, p. 21). This starts with recruiting the same-minded people to work at your facility. It also comes from training and continuing education throughout their careers. This is the same as a baseball team. Once all the players are on the team the job is not done. There is a constant need for improvement and training to be the best you can be. This is hiring people who actually want to be there and make a difference rather than just working for a paycheck. There is a huge difference in success when it comes to someone wanting to make a difference over just wanting paid. 

“Recent implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and shortage in the workforce have amplified the need for collaboration and teamwork across the health professions” (Sedki, Mendez, Bruer, Levine, 2015). Hospital collaboration and teamwork is extremely important if the workforce is at a shortage. This means employees have to work even harder and more sound together to keep producing high quality care. It may even mean some employees will work over-time and, in a health care profession, if that is what it takes then that is what you do. “Teams are also formed for quality improvement (QI) projects, and they may work together for a few months or a few years” (Thomas, 2011). No matter how long a team has worked together or how long they are supposed to work together, it is critical that they collaborate to produce high quality care for all patients. High quality care and success of a health system does not come from one person alone. It comes from every single person from every department working together to make a difference. I work at an assisted living facility and we are constantly told how everyone makes a difference in the resident’s lives. From housekeeping to maintenance to nursing to administration, everyone makes a difference and not one department is more important than the other. 

Philippians 2:13 says, “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” God provides us with opportunities to work together to make a difference. It all depends if we are looking for those opportunities or looking a different way to make a difference by ourselves. 

References

Lombardi, D. N., & Pynes, J. E. (2012).  Human Resources Management for Health Care Organizations. Chichester: JOSSEY BASS WILEY. 

Sedki, M., Mendez, J., Bruer, S., & Levine, D. (2015). The importance of teamwork in healthcare for effective communicate and care of older adults.  Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice,  1(2), 71-72. 

Thomas, E. J. (2011). Improving teamwork in healthcare: Current approaches and the path forward.  BMJ Quality & Safety,  20(8), 647.