Interprofessional teamworking: what makes teams work well?

Abstract

The issue of interprofessional working is currently one of key importance in the field of health and social care. This research project explored how and why co-operative and positive working relationships and practices developed within one interprofessional health care team in the north-east of England. Three themes emerged from the study, which appeared to be indicators for positive team working. These were the personal qualities and commitment of staff; communication within the team and the opportunity to develop creative working methods within the team, all of which were seen by team members as significantly different from their previous experiences of interprofessional working.

What fosters or prevents interprofessional teamworking in primary and community care? A literature review

“…As reported by Poulton and West (1999), larger teams appear to have lower levels of participation compared with smaller sized teams, which was found to significantly correlate with team effectiveness. Molyneux's (2001) qualitative study and Rutherford and McArthur's (2004) ethnographic study report similar findings that smaller sized teams appear to function better than larger teams, since too large a team was reported to be cumbersome. On the other hand, Borrill et al (2000) found that larger teams were externally rated by Health Authority management, the NHS parent Trust and GPs, to be more effective in dimensions of clinical practice and teamworking although any possible explanations for this were not provided by the authors.…”

“…However, in-depth exploration of what team goals should be and in what way and by whom these should be developed is lacking in the literature. Cartlidge et al (1987) suggest that good interpersonal relations can promote teamworking by inhibiting team conflict, but from the reviewed studies only one reported lack of team conflict (Molyneux, 2001), while others identified some form of team conflict as a barrier to teamwork either at an interpersonal or interprofessional level. West and Markiewicz (2004) argue that debate is desirable in teams, and the team's diversity and differences should be a source of excellence and creativity, but when conflict is experienced as unpleasant by members it can destroy relations and lower team effectiveness.…”

STRENGTH and the Health Care Team: Changing Interprofessional and Client-Centered Practices

“…Although not directly measured, the less experienced therapists described a growing confi dence in their professional role and identity, which is an important precursor to team functioning. 15 The therapists described improved communication within the team, which together with role understanding has been highlighted as an essential element of interprofessional team functioning. 16 Notably however, the therapists felt that this new way of functioning as a team would not be retained without STRENGTH, reinforcing the importance of context on team functioning.…”

Multidisciplinary cancer care: we need to practice what we preach

“…The team composition is dependent on the tumour site, which should include specialists in the diagnostic area (pathology, nuclear medicine, radiology) in the therapeutic area (surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, other specialties) nurses, psychooncologists, palliative care physicians, and others, according to each hospital and locally available resources. The organization will depend on the local particularities, but some aspects are very relevant, such as the decision to review all cases of the specific site, participation of all involved specialists -which is not so easy in some cases (for instance, the need for a radiation oncologist when there are no radiotherapy facilities in the hospital)-establish a single point of entry for patients to the hospital, making decisions that are binding on the team and communication quality among participating professionals [4].…”