A study of deficiencies in teamwork skills among Jordan caregivers

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the deficiencies in teamwork skills at Jordan hospitals as seen by team members. The study aims to identify training needs to improve teamwork-related soft skills of caregivers to enhance staff satisfaction and improve quality of care. Moreover, the paper provides a methodology to identify the training needs in any healthcare workplace by repeating the same questionnaire. Design/methodology/approach A self-administrated questionnaire was designed to study deficiencies in teamwork and team leadership at Jordan hospitals as seen by team members. Surveyed care providers included physicians, nursing and anesthesiologists operating in emergency departments, surgical operating rooms and intensive care units from various hospitals. Findings With a response rate of 78.8 percent, statistical analysis of collected data of opposing staff members revealed low levels of satisfaction (40.7-48 percent opposing), lack of awareness on the impact of teamwork on quality of care (15.6-22.1 percent opposing), low levels of involvement of top management (27.1-57.3 percent opposing), lack of training (52.5-69.8 percent opposing), lack of leadership skills (29.8-60 percent opposing), lack of communication (22.3-62.1 percent opposing), lack of employee involvement (37.6-50.8 percent opposing) and lack of collaboration among team members (28.6-50 percent opposing). Among the many, results illustrate the need for improving leadership skills of team leaders, improving communication and involving team members in decision making. Originality/value Several studies investigated relationships between teamwork skills and quality of care in many countries. To the authors' knowledge, no local study investigated the deficiencies of teamwork skills among Jordan caregivers and its impact on quality of care. The study provides the ground for management at Jordan hospitals and to healthcare academic departments to tailor training courses to improve teamwork skills of caregivers. Data of this study are collected from the society who is working in the field of healthcare. As the results of this are produced from a real data, it is expected that applying the recommendations will impact the society positively by enhancing the patients' satisfaction.

FORMING SOFT SKILLS OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS BY MEANS OF ACADEMIC ROLE-PLAYING GAMES AT FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES.doc

“…Thus, in the United States in 2006, a similar study demonstrated that, according to employers, the least developed graduates' soft skills are precisely the skills of interaction and creative approach to the performance of labor functions (Are They Really Ready to Work?...). The need to improve teamwork skills and its direct connection with the quality of work, for example, the quality of medical services provided, is also indicated by a later study (Al-Araidah et al, 2018). In 2010 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Slovenia, Romania and Austria the results of some studies, which analyzed the quality of the graduates' labor market and their ability to meet the needs of employers, were published (Andrews & Higson, 2010).…”

“…Studies in the field of soft skills are still carried out. The subject of the study is the diagnosis and evaluation of soft skills (Balcar et al, 2018;Mohamed et al, 2017;Brooks et al, 2018;Devedzic et al, 2018); the use of various approaches, methods and techniques, for example, interdisciplinary design work (Vogler et al, 2018), group work (Al-Araidah et al, 2018;Chasidim et al, 2018;Brooks et al, 2018;Yehia & Gunn, 2018;Espey, 2018;Kusumoto, 2018); the development of some certain skills, for example, collaboration skills (Kaburise, 2016;Al-Araidah et al, 2018), critical thinking (Espey, 2018), etc.…”

“…Group work as a means of forming soft skills have exceptional potential (Al-Araidah et al, 2018;Chasidim et al, 2018;Brooks et al, 2018;Yehia & Gunn, 2018;Espey, 2018;Kusumoto, 2018); it derives from the very definition of the concept of soft skillsa complex of social and communication skills that ensure effective communication and teamwork. The terms of "hard skills" and "soft skills" appeared as an analogy to computer terms "hardware" and "software" and were later extrapolated to the social sphere from economics and business (Cambridge Dictionary, Collins Dictionary).…”

“…Group work makes it possible to form and develop the skills of teamwork, communication and critical thinking (Al-Araidah et al, 2018;Chasidim et al, 2018;Brooks et al, 2018;Yehia & Gunn, 2018;Espey, 2018;Kusumoto, 2018) in the most natural way.…”

Assessing the Efficacy of a Novel Massive Open Online Soft Skills Course for South Asian Healthcare Professionals

“…In healthcare professions, soft skills enhance critical thinking, decision-making, and patient-centered care, which are paramount to quality healthcare delivery and favorable patient outcomes; yet, healthcare educators have traditionally placed a greater emphasis on profession-specific skills [ 3 , 4 ]. Prior studies assessing soft skills training across multiple medical universities found limited emphasis on teamwork and professional communication [ 5 , 6 ].…”