Building effective clinical teams in healthcare.

PURPOSE This article aims to review teamwork and the creation of effective teams within healthcare. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH By combining research material found in management, psychology and health services research the article explores the drivers increasing the importance of teamwork, reviews the current knowledge base on how to build a team and focuses on some of the barriers to effective team performance. FINDINGS The simultaneous inflation of healthcare costs and necessity to improve quality of care has generated a demand for novel solutions in policy, strategy, commissioning and provider organisations. A critical, but commonly undervalued means by which quality can be improved is through structured, formalised incentivisation and development of teams, and the ability of individuals to work collectively and in collaboration. Several factors appear to contribute to the development of successful teams, including effective communication, comprehensive decision making, safety awareness and the ability to resolve conflict. Not only is strong leadership important if teams are to function effectively but the concept and importance of followership is also vital. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS Building effective clinical teams is difficult. The research in this area is currently limited, as is the authors' understanding of the different requirements faced by those working in different areas of the health and social care environment. ORIGINALITY/VALUE This article provides a starting place for those interested in leading and developing teams of clinicians.

[1]  D. Farley,et al.  Outcome Measures for Effective Teamwork in Inpatient Care , 2008 .

[2]  J Bryan Sexton,et al.  Discrepant attitudes about teamwork among critical care nurses and physicians* , 2003, Critical care medicine.

[3]  A. Maynard The powers and pitfalls of payment for performance. , 2012, Health economics.

[4]  David C Mohr,et al.  Teamwork Culture and Patient Satisfaction in Hospitals , 2004, Medical care.

[5]  K. O’Leary,et al.  Teamwork on inpatient medical units: assessing attitudes and barriers , 2010, Quality and Safety in Health Care.

[6]  David M. Gaba,et al.  Simulation-Based Training in Anesthesia Crisis Resource Management (ACRM): A Decade of Experience , 2001 .

[7]  G. Gair,et al.  Medical dominance in multidisciplinary teamwork: a case study of discharge decision‐making in a geriatric assessment unit , 2001 .

[8]  R. Kelley,et al.  In praise of followers , 1988 .

[9]  R. Mortimer,et al.  Lessons from the Clinical Support Systems Program: facilitating better practice through leadership and team building , 2004, The Medical journal of Australia.

[10]  Mark V. Williams,et al.  Interdisciplinary teamwork in hospitals: a review and practical recommendations for improvement. , 2012, Journal of hospital medicine.

[11]  L. Donaldson Expert patients usher in a new era of opportunity for the NHS , 2003, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[12]  Gary P. Pisano,et al.  Organizational Differences in Rates of Learning: Evidence from the Adoption of Minimally Invasive Cardiac Surgery , 2001, Manag. Sci..

[13]  T. Cooper,et al.  A major outbreak of Norovirus in an acute NHS hospital in 2010: a practical management approach , 2011 .

[14]  K. Guo,et al.  Leaders in hospital-based social work: the roles and functions of directors of social work in the case management model. , 2007, Leadership in health services.

[15]  Justin Waring,et al.  Managing Expert Knowledge: Organizational Challenges and Managerial Futures for the UK Medical Profession , 2009 .

[16]  A. Fitzgerald,et al.  Innovative health care delivery teams: learning to be a team player is as important as learning other specialised skills. , 2008, Journal of health organization and management.

[17]  E. Ream,et al.  Teamwork: a concept analysis. , 2008, Journal of advanced nursing.

[18]  W. Ansari When meanings blur, do differences matter? Initiatives for improving the quality and integration of care: conceptual matrix or measurement maze? , 2011 .

[19]  J. Dawson,et al.  Reducing patient mortality in hospitals: the role of human resource management , 2006 .

[20]  M. Makary,et al.  Operating room teamwork among physicians and nurses: teamwork in the eye of the beholder. , 2006, Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

[21]  G. Setnik,et al.  Demonstration of high-fidelity simulation team training for emergency medicine. , 1999, Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

[22]  Ara Darzi,et al.  Better: A surgeon’s notes on performance , 2007 .

[23]  Debbie Wall,et al.  Team resource management: a programme for troubled teams , 2003 .

[24]  R. Kelley,et al.  The power of followership , 1992 .

[25]  Sallie J. Weaver,et al.  Does team training work? Principles for health care. , 2008, Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.