Aacn, Qsen Teamwork and Collaboration Teamwork and Collaboration Competency Resource Paper

Definition: Function effectively within nursing and inter-professional teams, fostering open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making to achieve quality patient care Key Message Safe, effective, satisfying patient care requires teamwork, collaboration with and communication among members of the team, including the patient and family as active partners. Objectives 1. Define teamwork and collaboration 2. Describe the impact of collaboration on patient, care provider and organizational outcomes 3. Discuss differences in scope among members of the health care team 4. Describe three strategies that promote effective teamwork Introduction For almost 40 years, researchers and theorists have labored to understand the dynamics inherent in groups and teams, drawing heavily on sociological studies examining group structures, problem solving and communication. Situations such as the Bay of Pigs and the Challenger disaster drew national attention to how groups function. Within the health care community, the Institute of Medicine (IOM, 1998) drew attention to the fact that 98,000 deaths were occurring annually, leading to complications and death. In 2008, the Joint Commission noted that " safety and quality of patient care is dependent on teamwork, communication and a collaborative work environment. " Understanding and optimizing team performance, and collaboration among team members, is a core responsibility of all health care team members. A key point to emphasize throughout this document is that the patient and family are to be key members of the team. The IOM has directed organizations to develop patient/family centered approaches which actively includes the patient and family in planning, executing and evaluating any care that is to be given. One of the other modules in the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses/American Association of Colleges of Nursing initiative focuses on Patient/Family Centered Care. In that module are the history of this movement, key definitions and principles, strategies for promoting patient/family centered care, and mechanisms for evaluating its effectiveness. Collaboration Collaboration is the " process of joint decision making among independent parties involving joint ownership of decisions and collective responsibility for outcomes. The essence of collaboration involves working across professional boundaries " (Liedtka & Whitten, 1998). The parties bring individual areas of expertise to a particular situation, as well as diverse perspectives which are influenced by professional orientation, experience, age, gender, education and socioeconomic status. Conditions which enhance AACN, QSEN Teamwork and Collaboration 3 collaboration include shared goals, an understanding of the other's roles and responsibilities, mutual respect, clear communication, an openness …