Bringing Interdisciplinary and Multicultural Team Building to Health Care Education: The Downstate Team-Building Initiative

Abstract

DTBI successfully united students across health discipline, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, gender, and sexual orientation into functioning teams. The model represents an effective approach to teaching health care team building and demonstrates benefits in both preclinical and clinical years of training.

Support for Interdisciplinary Approaches in Emergency Medical Services Education

“…Establishing healthcare team training programs has been advocated for in the United States as a means of promoting healthcare safety by lowering the levels of medical errors and creating more transparency between disciplines (Barnett et al, 2011;Xyrichis & Ream, 2007). Hope et al (2005) described how teamwork across health disciplines is crucial to patient care, provider morale, and administrative efficiency. Teamwork education has enhanced studentlearning capability, assisted in developing integrative perspectives and skills, improved selfconfidence, and garnered a greater appreciation and tolerance of team members (Xyrichis & Ream, 2007).…”

“…DTBI participants reported an increase in the team atmosphere, improved teamwork skills, higher self-confidence, and understanding of the professional functions of the other health disciplines, which yielded the greatest increase of any category tested (Hope et al, 2005). Hope et al (2005) described how their findings suggest the rate of progression in understanding teamwork might be more a function of the quality of time spent together rather than specific session topics, emphasizing the importance of providing students with opportunities to practice within interdisciplinary teams with other healthcare students. Barnett et al (2011) described the interdisciplinary health team as a group of consistent, relevant individuals of different disciplines with interactions directed by a specific purpose and positive patient outcomes.…”

“…For example, Hope et al (2005) evaluated the impact of the Downstate Team-Building Initiative (DTBI), where various healthcare students together learned decision-making, conflict mediation, and alliance building across professional positions and cultural identity. DTBI aimed to improve the abilities of future healthcare providers to work together in the delivery of quality care by having each student cohort identify and implement a health-related community project as a team (Hope et al, 2005).…”

“…For example, Hope et al (2005) evaluated the impact of the Downstate Team-Building Initiative (DTBI), where various healthcare students together learned decision-making, conflict mediation, and alliance building across professional positions and cultural identity. DTBI aimed to improve the abilities of future healthcare providers to work together in the delivery of quality care by having each student cohort identify and implement a health-related community project as a team (Hope et al, 2005). DTBI participants reported an increase in the team atmosphere, improved teamwork skills, higher self-confidence, and understanding of the professional functions of the other health disciplines, which yielded the greatest increase of any category tested (Hope et al, 2005).…”

“…DTBI aimed to improve the abilities of future healthcare providers to work together in the delivery of quality care by having each student cohort identify and implement a health-related community project as a team (Hope et al, 2005). DTBI participants reported an increase in the team atmosphere, improved teamwork skills, higher self-confidence, and understanding of the professional functions of the other health disciplines, which yielded the greatest increase of any category tested (Hope et al, 2005). Hope et al (2005) described how their findings suggest the rate of progression in understanding teamwork might be more a function of the quality of time spent together rather than specific session topics, emphasizing the importance of providing students with opportunities to practice within interdisciplinary teams with other healthcare students.…”