Teamwork and Collaboration in Healthcare

In healthcare, teamwork is an ongoing process of collaboration between healthcare providers as they work together to provide care for patients. The goal of teamwork and collaboration is to support health care providers, improve communication and coordination of care, and promote patient centered care.

Teamwork and Collaboration between Nurses and Health Care Providers

Nurses and health care providers should establish an effective partnership in order to meet the increased complexity and requirements of today’s patients (Hood, 2014, p. 101). Among nurses and health care providers, the common goal of team work and collaboration can be established by effective communication (Hood, 2014, p. 102). Teamwork and collaboration is an approach to plan, deliver, and evaluate the health care, which is based in mutually beneficial partnership among nurses and health care providers to deliver safe and quality patient care.

When considering teamwork in healthcare, an interdisciplinary approach should be applied. An interdisciplinary approach combines all the disciplines involved in the patients care to work together in generating an individualized plan of care that best addresses the needs of the patients. “As the health care has become specialized, providers must recognize the expertise and knowledge of one or more disciplines are essential to start the collaboration process and result in optimal care,” (Fewster-Thuente, 2015, p. 359). When all disciplines work together, they can combine and apply a variety of knowledge in order to make decisions about the plan of care and help patients reach their goal.

Nurse-Patient Relationship

Nurses play a huge role in providing care to patients and make significant impacts on their recovery. To create a desired outcome, nurses build helping relationships with patients, in which nurses communicate with patients to assist them in achieving optimal health or provide support through difficult situations (Hood, 2014, p. 80). Effective communication is the base of relationships between nurses and patients. When the plan of care is communicated with patients and they are involved in the collaborative process, they are more likely to comply with the plan of care (Fewster-Thuente, 2015, p. 359). The collaborative practice allows the patients and the health care providers to make health care decisions, while taking into consideration the patients’ beliefs and preferences.

As the diversity among the population increases, the health care providers should be aware of their diverse and ethnic populations. Therefore, meeting the cultural and language needs of patients is vital for providing effective care (Hood, 2014, p. 270). Nurses must become culturally competent and be prepared to meet the diverse requirements of the patients. To learn about the patients’ cultural background and establish cultural competence, nurses should inquire about patient cultural and ethnic care consideration and take into account patients’ preferences when providing patient care (Hood, 2014, p.94). Diversity in the nursing field provides opportunities to carry quality care, which promotes patient satisfaction and emotional well-being.

Conclusion

Effective communication, team work, and collaboration are essential for carrying out the assignment of safe, effective, and quality care to patients, families, and societies (Hood, 2014, p.106). Involving the patients in medical decision making helps them become more active and involved in their care (Fewster-Thuente, 2015, p. 359). Working as a team enhances the quality of care and increases the patient satisfaction. Nurses and the health care team members must work together to accomplish the mutual objective of providing the best possible care for patients.

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