Team Work

Introduction

            My name is Betty Annie Mathew, 25 years old, and has a BSC in nursing from the PSG College of Nursing in India. I am currently doing my adaptation programme in order to become a registered nurse in the United Kingdom according to the rules and regulations set by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Prior to this, I had three years work experience in the field of nursing pediatrics back in India.

I am doing my adaptation programme at Fulwood Lodge Nursing Home in Sheffield. This is a 42 bedded nursing home with 24 hours nursing care. There are 2 nurses and 6 care assistants on the morning shift where team work plays an important role for the proper and smooth running of shift. At night, there is 1 nurse and 3 carers on duty. The nursing home has a matron who is fully incharge of the nursing home and a deputy matron who will be assisting her.

As I have noticed that team work has significantly affected the level and quality of client care in my place of work, I have decided to do a paper on this particular issue of team work and its relationship to the level of patient care and satisfaction.

 

Body

            Health care teams have been described as multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, cross-disciplinary, polydisciplinary, pandisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and virtual. This is also applied to nursing care teams. An advantage of this is the collaborative style that encourages each member of the team to help the other members.

            Effective team work requires good communication in order for nurses to be able to provide to their patients the best quality of care. Frustrated team members often express concerns about its quality and extent. As in any relationship between people, the ability to “keep the lines of communication open” in a team is an important indicator of effective team work skills.

            As the old saying goes, “two heads is better than one.” How much more a team? Each member of a team can contribute ideas for the care of the client. This could definitely give the team options and chose what is best for the client and his situation. The members of the team also can each help each other and at the same time divide their tasks in order to be able to provide the best quality of care for the client.

 

Conclusion

            Working outside teams still can provide quality of care to the patient. But having a team to take care of a patient can significantly increase the quality of care offered to the patients. Aside from that, team work can enhance relationships between nurses and also provide many options for the care of the patient.

            It is thus important that there is cooperation within the team in order for hospital shifts to run smoothly and for nurses to be able to provide high levels of quality of care for the patients.

References

Clark, P.G. & Drinka, T.J.K. 2000, Interdisciplinary Practice and Teaching,

Auburn House.

Potter, P. and Perry, A. 2004. Fundamentals of Nursing. Mosby.

Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com