Inter-Professional Teamwork in Healthcare Essay

Introduction

The healthcare sector is made up of various professionals who have varied knowledge and skills that are necessary for the management of patients so as achieve optimal patient care (Kvarnstrom, 2018). Therefore, the healthcare sector expects these parties to work together in inter-professional teamwork of healthcare providers to achieve a common goal. The healthcare system is becoming complex and dynamic hence requiring nurses to collaborate on the various inter-professional teams to give the patient better outcomes. The formation and viability of groups is a hectic process as it requires cohesiveness before these teams become effective. My personal opinion that has been influenced by my experiences working with groups is that these teams are essential in the healthcare sector as the patient requires knowledge and skills from every profession in the healthcare sector as there are collaboration and opportunities for continuous learning.

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Strategies for Facilitating the Group Process

Formation of inter-professional groups is a delicate process that requires the passage of the group into various stages before it can become effective. A nurse is normally involved in teamwork whereby each individual plays a critical role in the development of the group through various stages. To maintain teamwork, there are strategies that ensure positive collaboration that include delegation of specific duties and demanding to see the outcomes of each and every team member (Reeves, Lewin, Espin & Zwarenstein, 2011). The failure of one member of the team means that the purpose of the group will not be met hence it means that the entire group will not achieve the set goals.

Various Groups That Have Been Involved With

Being a nurse, my work usually involves the direct and close interaction of the patient. All the teamwork that is formed in the healthcare system includes a nurse since nurses are the primary caretakers of the patient (Reeves et al. 2011). The most significant group that I have been involved in is the Blood Transfusion Unit Team. The purpose of this team is to ensure that blood is donated, stored well and availed to the patients in the required amount. This group has the task of ensuring that blood is not misused and patients that require blood are given blood without much delay. The team includes a haematological doctor, the head of blood transfusion unit, resource manager, haematology laboratory personnel and two nurses. Each member has a specific role to play. The haematology doctor ensures that the blood transfusion requests are valid. The resource manager ensures that individuals are mobilized to donate blood. The haematology laboratory personnel are involved in the actual blood donation exercise, storage and issuing of blood upon request. As a nurse, I ensure that nurses are given the required amount of the blood and that patients actually receive that exact amount.

The Four Stages of Group Formation

Tuckman developed four stages of group development. These stages include; forming, storming, norming and performing (Tuckman and Jensen, 2017). Forming refers to the coming together of the various team members to form the group. During storming, my group comes together to solve a conflict in the blood transfusion team. Norming is when the group finishes deciding what is normal such as the methods of promoting blood donation through poster advertising. Performing refers to when the blood transfusion unit works efficiently. Therefore, my group is at the performing stage and has never been stuck in any stages.

Role Played in the Group

As a nurse, my main function in the group is to ensure that the blood is availed to all the nurses with valid blood request forms. This ensures that the group performs efficiently hence the patients receive the blood they require leading to better outcomes. The information that I have learnt will be useful in ensuring that each member of the group participates fully for the betterment of the patient since the group will function as a whole.

Problematic Roles

There are certain individuals who might fall into a problematic role in the functioning of teamwork (Hall, 2005). The haematology laboratory personnel who are the members of the group can be the blocker if they do not distribute blood in the desired manner. This will render the team useless and we will have failed. There is an instance where blood was being stolen from the hospital and the team agreed that the blood movement should be tracked and records are kept by at least two individuals. As a leader, I will utilize the strategies learnt in this learning experience to grow the group, face challenges, and tackle problems that arise, plan the work and deliver the required results.

References

Hall, P. (2005). Interprofessional Teamwork: Professional Cultures as Barriers. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 19(sup1), 188-196.

Kvarnstrom, S. (2018). Difficulties in Collaboration: A Critical Incident Study of Interprofessional Healthcare Teamwork. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 22(2), 191-203. Retrieved from; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13561820701760600

Reeves, S., Lewin, S., Espin, S., & Zwarenstein, M. (2011). Interprofessional Teamwork for Health and Social Care (Vol. 8). John Wiley & Sons.

Tuckman, B. W., & Jensen, M. A. C. (2017). Stages Of Small-Group Development Revisited. Group & Organization Studies, 2(4), 419-427. Retrieved from; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/105960117700200404/