3.3 Teams and Teamwork
IPEC Competency 4: Teams and Teamwork
Now that we have reviewed the first three IPEC competencies related to valuing team members , understanding team members’ roles and responsibilities and interprofessional communication, let’s discuss strategies that promote effective teamwork. The fourth IPEC competency states, “Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver, and evaluate patient/population-centered care and population health programs and policies that are safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable” (Interprofessional Education Collaborative, n.d.). See the following box for the components of this IPEC competency.
Components of IPEC’s Teams and Teamwork Competency (Interprofessional Education Collaborative, 2022.)
- Describe the process of team development and the roles and practices of effective teams.
- Develop consensus on the ethical principles to guide all aspects of teamwork.
- Engage health and other professionals in shared patient-centered and population-focused problem-solving.
- Integrate the knowledge and experience of health and other professions to inform health and care decisions, while respecting patient and community values and priorities/preferences for care.
- Apply leadership practices that support collaborative practice and team effectiveness.
- Engage self and others to constructively manage disagreements about values, roles, goals, and actions that arise among health and other professionals and with patients, families, and community members.
- Share accountability with other professions, patients, and communities for outcomes relevant to prevention and health care.
- Reflect on individual and team performance for individual, as well as team, performance improvement.
- Use process improvement to increase effectiveness of interprofessional teamwork and team-based services, programs, and policies.
- Use available evidence to inform effective teamwork and team-based practices.
- Perform effectively on teams and in different team roles in a variety of settings.
Developing effective teams is critical for providing health care that is patient-centered, safe, timely, effective, efficient, and equitable (Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel, 2011).
Nurses collaborate with the interprofessional team by not only assigning and coordinating tasks, but also by promoting solid teamwork in a positive environment. A nursing leader, such as a charge nurse, identifies gaps in workflow, recognizes when task overload is occurring, and promotes the adaptability of the team to respond to evolving patient conditions. Qualities of a successful team are described in the following box (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2011).
Qualities of A Successful Team (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2011)
- Promote a respectful atmosphere
- Define clear roles and responsibilities for team members
- Regularly and routinely share information
- En