Role conflict and confidentiality in multidisciplinary athlete support programmes.

Abstract

As medical and scientific staV have increasingly been called upon to provide multidisciplinary support to elite performers the potential for ethical, professional, and legal conflicts has also increased. Although this has been recognised, little guidance has been provided to help resolve such conflicts. This paper identifies key issues in the provision of eVective support and specifically addresses the roles of medical and scientific staV and their relations to coaches and performers. An athlete charter is presented that has successfully been used to resolve ethical conflicts and clarify the lines of communication, confidentiality, and responsibility within a national governing body. (Br J Sports Med 1999;33:208-211)

Big Hitters: Important Factors Characterizing Team Effectiveness in Professional Cricket

“…A potential shortcoming of the present research is that it failed to explore the impact of wider support teams on effective team functioning (e.g., Collins et al, 1999), or the ways in which the constructs raised in the narratives related to the wider support team (i.e., trust). Drawing on the emerging body of research on sports oriented organizational psychology, this would be a note-worthy extension to the present research.…”

Culture Change in Elite Sport Performance Teams: Examining and Advancing Effectiveness in the New Era

“…Similarly, a concerted effort from a range of support disciplines is required in organizing and preparing the team (e.g., coaching, strength and conditioning, nutrition, physiotherapy, sport psychology, scouting). However, as each profession is characterized by its distinct codes and interests, the threat of program-derailing conflict always looms (Collins, Moore, Mitchell & Alpress, 1999). Indeed, Reid, Stewart and Thorne (2004) have noted that interpersonal, individual-group (e.g., one coach and all other coaches) and group-group (e.g., coaches and physiotherapists) conflict can swiftly spiral and lead to detrimental impasse, rogue alliances and the perishing of a cooperated and collaborated approach.…”

Confidentiality in Sports Medicine

“…"With so many differences between disciplines, how is the athlete to distinguish who says what to whom?" [29].…”

“…For some this requires transparent reporting and information management systems [5]. Others have advocated the use of an "athlete's charter" to identify which MSST personnel are bound by disclosure regulations [4,29]. A dialogue to establish what is deemed to constitute "serious harm" to third parties within sports teams is required as research identifies various interpretations of this notion [24].…”