Role Perception and Personality in Teamwork

The factors that suggest how individuals contribute in a team setting are their level of motivation, methods of interaction with other group members, and level of acceptance of group norms and organizational goals are explained by their unique personal abilities, skills, experiences, attitudes, values, culture, role perception and personality. (Leggat, 2007). Through my past experiences, values, and skills, I have determined that my strengths are communication and Leadership. Having effective communication will contribute to an interprofessional team by promoting efficient patient care, having less staff distress and tension, and understanding the goals of treatment. Having effective leadership will contribute to an interprofessional team by promoting task coordination, planning, development of the team, motivation and establishing a positive work environment (Weller, Boyd, & Cumin, 2014). The challenges that I would have while working on a team are organizational factors and educational factors. Education is a challenge of mine because there is limited established training in teamwork skill preparation in undergraduate or postgraduate medical professional education programs (Leggat, 2007). In addition, organizational factors in teamwork is another challenge of mine due to the lack of structural procedures, the way the clinical setting is set-up, and inefficient cultural environments.

My unique strengths in teamwork are my communication and leadership qualities. I believe that I have strong communication characteristics because talking and bonding with others come naturally to me due to my past experiences, values, and personality. I can talk to anyone at ease, I listen carefully while others are speaking, I present my views and opinions effectively to others, I am naturally good at verbally and non-verbally communicating due to my cultural background and work experience, and I never have a problem expressing what is on my mind. Having effective communication will contribute to an interprofessional team by promoting efficient patient care, having less staff distress and tension, and understanding the goals of treatment. Leggat (2007) mentions verbal and non-verbal communication as important skills in teamwork and states that communicating organizational goals facilitates strong support in a team. In addition, another aspect of having great communication and improving teamwork is allowed by being able to engage in patients and their families (Bhatt & Swick, 2017). Research shows that there is a connection between increased patient and family engagement and less adverse events (Bhatt & Swick, 2017). By understanding how patient and families want to be involved in the patients' care allows them to design the patients plan of care, which increases their understanding of tests, procedures, and anticipated care outcomes, including a successful discharge (Bhatt & Swick, 2017).

Present research reveals that inefficient communication between medical care professionals is one of the leading motives of medical errors and patient harm (Dingle, Daugherty, Derieg, & Persing, 2008). For example, communication deficiency leads to increases in patient injury, length of stay, and resource utilization, as well as more heightened caregiver dissatisfaction and more accelerated turnover in acute settings (Dingle et al., 2008). Lastly, health care teams that communicate effectively and work together reduce the potential for error, resulting in improved patient safety and better clinical performance (Bhatt & Swick, 2017).

I believe that I have strong leadership qualities because I am a very disciplined worker, I enjoy the challenge of bonding people together, even if I do not agree with someone’s opinion I still value their insight, it is not a problem for me to adapt to new people and environments, I am consistent and always stand by my promises, and I am very empathetic. Having effective leadership will contribute to an interprofessional team by promoting task coordination, planning, development of the team, motivation and establishing a positive work environment (Weller et al., 2014). Leggat (2007) mentions that leadership was the only skill that was identified as important by more than 50% of the respondents. The strong support for leadership skills among management team members in the study exemplifies that within healthcare, leadership is usually only focused on the top of authority hierarchy and this needs to be refocused to develop leaders throughout the organization (Leggat, 2007). By leveling out the hierarchy of leaders allows others to foster these roles to improve teamwork outcomes (Leggat, 2007). In addition, strong leadership with a flat hierarchy is important in teamwork to improve coordination of care, enhance patient satisfaction with care, enhance job-satisfaction between team members and reduce medical errors.

The challenges that I would have while working on a team are educational factors and organizational factors. Education is a challenge of mine because there is limited established training in teamwork skill preparation in undergraduate or postgraduate medical professional education programs (Leggat, 2007). The educational programs do not prepare health care professionals in teamwork, which leaves teamwork skills to be learned on-the-job (Leggat, 2007). In addition, education is a factor in teamwork because academic programs teach professionals how to interact with patients and not with other medical professions. Each healthcare field is taught separate ways of arranging information due to their educational program. This makes teamwork in health care more challenging to accomplish because each profession may not understand the priorities and roles of other team members (Weller et al., 2014). Separation of differences in education leads to problems when interprofessional teamwork is necessary because each profession is not informed of the responsibilities and priorities of team members (Weller et al., 2014). To prepare for these challenges, healthcare professionals should be educated on effective communication strategies, train teams together, and train teams using simulation in their educational or training program (Weller et al., 2014). Effective communication strategies rely on teaching structured methods of communication, such as ‘SBAR’ handovers to improve patient outcomes (Weller et al., 2014). Training teams together include working with each other to build chemistry and develop a relationship to improve outcomes effectively. Lastly, using simulation is a secure method to practice new communication techniques to develop an interdisciplinary understanding (Weller et al., 2014).

Organization in teamwork is another challenge of mine due to the way the clinical setting is prearranged, lack of structural procedures, and inefficient cultural environments. Overcoming organizational challenges is critical in teamwork in health care because, without structural procedures, the patient's health may be in jeopardy. Having efficient organizational components is very important in an effective teamwork model as Leggat (2007) lists organizational factors in the knowledge and motives categories of effective teamwork. The participants in the study mentioned that knowledge of organizational goals and strategies and commitment to the organization were important factors in effective teamwork. In addition, there are many components to a hospital and the way the facility is structured effects scheduled activities and meetings, which poses organizational challenges. The geographical and structural factors are challenges in information sharing especially in a hospital that has numerous departments (Weller et al., 2014). To prepare for these organizational challenges, professionals should implement teamwork that has protocols and use procedures that encourages idea sharing throughout the entire team such as checklists and briefings (Weller et al., 2014). Professionals should also create an organizational culture supporting teamwork by valuing safety (Weller et al., 2014). Having protocols and procedural activities allows the team to share the same mental model to promote patient safety (Weller et al., 2014). Procedures ensure the team and the patient’s information and strategy are appropriate when important decisions are being made (Weller et al., 2014). Geographical problems with professionals can be solved by bringing the team routinely together through a system by not having team members spread across the hospital at different times. Developing a supportive organizational culture is important in teamwork to prevent medical errors. Finally, to evolve healthcare institutions, all employees in the institutions must recognize the importance of interdisciplinary teamwork to promote a safe working environment for patients (Weller et al., 2014).

In conclusion, team members must understand each other’s strengths and challenges that derive from team members different experiences, values, skills, attitudes, and motivations to create an efficient team. Through understanding my background in these unique personal factors, I mentioned that my strengths are communication and leadership and my weaknesses are education and organization. By being cognitive of your challenges will allow you to prepare for these barriers and develop into an efficient team member. Teamwork in health care is important as it allows professionals to give effective medical care and to reduce the risk of medical errors. Finally, the importance of teamwork in health care is valuable to deliver proper health care services to people as we find that each person in the team has a unique role to fulfill based on their strengths and weaknesses.

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