Management In Healthcare - Report Example

Health and social care Name Institution Date Introduction Teamwork in health care management can be defined as the behaviours which ensure that team members interact in an effective manner. A team can be defined as a group of people who interact with one another and performing tasks which are related. Another definition of a team is a group of individuals who depend upon each other while performing their tasks, the team members are all responsible for the outcome of their work and team members perceive themselves or are perceived as one entity which forms part of social system. Therefore, a team involves people who share some characteristics in which they are both or all interested in the outcome being in a given manner. Team members therefore share a future which is not far off and more often than not have a common fate. Examples of teams in health care management include emergency room, operating room, and labour and delivery. For a task to be successfully completed, the team members have to interact with one another. There are various activities which constitute teamwork and these include communication and decision making. Teamwork behaviours differ depending on the task that a team is engaged in. A healthcare system which is marked by proper teamwork leads to an improved quality of the services provided to the patients. Patients are assured of their safety and professionals in the healthcare encounter fewer instances of being overloaded since tasks are usually spread out in an equitable manner. Discussion Being a team member is supposed to bring about a change in a team player. The change that should be seen is with respect to the demeanour that the team player displays and how highly they regard their work. Having a positive outlook is an important aspect when one becomes a team player as opposed to being just a team member. The transformation from being just a team member to a team player is a process and one has to develop through a number of stages (Drinka & Clark, 2000). Teamwork requires that all the members be actively engaged in the activities of the team not only by the group as a whole but by the individual member. Being passive in a team is a vice which should be discouraged at all costs. In health care management it is important that the team be as inclusive as possible. Therefore, it behoves a good team leader to make sure that all the relevant stakeholders in the provision of health services are allowed to make their input. The health care team as a matter of necessity includes family members and the clients. The reason why these important people are included in the health care team is because they are the central people in the provision of health services. Without the clients and the patients, there would be absolutely no reason for having health facilities to begin with. The health workers, the clients, and the families of the clients all have one main objective which is to see to it that the clients receive the best health service and that they recover within a short duration and also that complications which may arise are kept to the bare minimum (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2011). The inclusion of the family members is also premised upon the fact that in most cases they are the ones that bear the costs which the client incurs in the course of health care. The family members play a vital in the process of recovery of the patient since they provide the necessary psychological support which is vital for a patient. In some instances, the patient's family provides insights as to the medical history of the patient which ensures that the patient receives the correct medical in the first instance and this reduces instances of medics having to appear as if they are conducting experiments on a patient which may end up with fatal results (Niles, 2012). The patient is the central figure in the health care facility and he cannot be excluded in a healthcare team. A healthcare team needs feedback from the client to know if they are providing the right medication and the results that they are getting. A patient provides the health care team with invaluable information absence of which may lead to devastating results (Weaver et al. 2010). An instance would be where a patient has a given medical condition or history which would rule out certain forms of medication being administered on such a patient. All people like being appreciated and patients fare much better when they are made to feel, not as objects, but as very vital players in the provision of health care services. How team building could be promoted Effective collaboration is vital if any organization is to achieve its objectives. This may be viewed as being a process which determines the results that a team achieves or as an outcome developing a survey on standards and performance measures on team effectiveness. The manager requires finding out from other organizations that provide health services measure the performance of their teams and how they set their standards adn establishing whether they are effective. Internally, the management could carry out surveys from amongst the team members on their expectations and the response elicited both internally and externally could prove to be very useful in the management coming up with standards and performance measures (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2011). The management also needs to have session for team building and problems solving. Team building activities provide an opportunity for team players to interact in an informal setting. The health care professionals are then able to interact and develop friendships and close working relationships. The workers also engage in problem solving which increases their capacity to deal with problem as and when they arise in the course of their employment. The setting for team building activities should never be the usual place of working as it should provide an environment where the team players can unwind. People naturally hate being micro managed and it becomes important for the organization to provide its employees with some room to determine what they should do. Team training is also an important aspect of team building. The different team players should learn what is expected of each other and they are supposed to learn to respect every person's contribution in the health sector. It is also important to have health care providers attend workshops on leadership (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2011). These workshops give such care providers with the necessary skills to deal with various situations that may arise in the course of their duty. Teams cannot be effective unless they are provided with relevant and adequate materials to carry out their functions. Having the right equipment acts somewhat as an incentive to workers to deliver to the best of their ability. The administration should never compromise on the necessary materials that the employees require such as protective clothing and ensuring that safety measures are in place (Weaver et al. 2010). The management should come up with a strategic plan regarding its service delivery. An organization with a clear vision and a clear path on how to achieve such a vision has very high probabilities of succeeding. Limitations or barriers to promoting team work and team building activities In health care, achieving teamwork is usually a very difficult task. There are various barriers which operate to frustrate team work in provision of health services. One of the greatest barriers is existence of a divide between various levels and categories of staff members. Various staff members feel superior to their colleagues and this creates animosity which undermines teamwork in the organization. Members of a team are employed under terms and conditions which are not uniform. This leads to a feeling of discrimination by some staff members and some feeling of inferiority. Failure to provide staff members with support to aid them forge team working is detrimental to coming up with teams which work in harmony. Difficulties in communication provide another hitch to achieving teamwork in health care providers. Members of staff in health care organizations have different levels of education and they rarely have opportunity to socialize with people outside their line of training further undermining teamwork (Vyt, 2008). At times healthcare providers are not alive to the role that is played by their colleagues and they might not appreciate the fact that each of them has a very key role to play in the success of their organization. Benefits of teamwork Team work has very many benefits to any given organization and more so when it comes to a health service provider. Every team member is able to make a contribution in the achievement of the organization's objectives by contributing their knowledge. All the members focus on the common objective of achieving the goals of the organization. With the concerted efforts of every member it becomes very easy to attain the goals (Vyt, 2008). Teamwork results in higher quality of service to patients. A health services provider is able to achieve innovation since there is support among the staff members. Team building activities to improve which would be employed to improve team work Interactions within a team involves various skills. Team members require interpersonal skills such as motivation, communication, negotiation and leadership. These skills are required despite the fact that the employees may possess the necessary technical skills required for the job. Despite the fact that an employee might be very qualified in their field of practice, lack of interpersonal skills might mean that such an employee might be ineffective. The reason why such an employee would not be very effective is because they would have a handicap when it comes to communicate with others. This hitch translates to the fact that organizational goals cannot be achieved because people have to interact and this is hindered. This makes team building activities to be priceless in any organization. An organization which invests in these activities is almost certain of reaping a lot of benefits. Team building exercises helps employees to be cohesive and cease to work as individuals. This is meant to ensure that different people are able to work together and are able to complete tasks almost effortlessly (Drinka & Clark, 2000). One of the most important activities for team building is communication exercise. To exercise with communication, members of the team are presented with activities which are aimed at ensuring that their communication skills improve. Health care profession is highly dependent of the ability to come up with information which is usually complex and this information has to be interpreted by a different person. This shows that communication cannot be ignored in any organization and more so in health facilities. The trainers would have to come up with an activity which shall enable the team members to better communicators. Problem solving is an important aspect whenever there are people working together. The main focus in this is to help the team player to make decisions which are complicated or solve very difficult problems. When a team is being trained in this area, it should be presented with a scenario which requires a solution to be made but the solution should not be obvious. This calls for the team to become creative and innovative to achieve the solution. People who have little or no experience in problem solving get to gain skills from their colleagues in arriving at a solution. In the medical fraternity, making the right decision at the right time could mean the difference between a patient living or dying (Buchbinder & Shanks, 2011). Health workers are at times faced with a situation whereby they have to make a critical decision within a very short time. This shows the very important place that decision making process holds in medical practice. Trust is a very important element if a team is to hold together. Team building activities should be geared towards ensuring that team members are able to trust one another. People are naturally distrustful and hence the need to developing it among team members. Where team members enjoy the confidence of each other then there is no room for doubt and the organization runs smoothly without hitches resulting from mistrust. Planning and adaptability are key components of team players if they are to achieve a successful outcome. Health care providers almost always have to work under very tough and unfriendly conditions. It is vital therefore, that these workers acquire the necessary skills that will enable them to survive in difficult situations and also ensure that they are still able to remain in their right minds since difficult working conditions might have the effect of disorienting them (Weaver et al. 2010). Team members ought to be taught the importance of being honest and be dedicated to their calling. Teamwork cannot operate in the absence of honesty and dedication. Team members should learn that they should depend on taking shortcuts to achieve their objectives. Conclusion Teamwork is very crucial for health providing organization. This is due to the fact that for any task to be accomplished, there are different players who are involved. If any of the people team fail in their role, then no matter how well the others perform their task, the whole process is likely to be less than satisfactory. The critical role of each player undermines the great importance with which teamwork should be taken in a health facility. Teamwork ensures smooth running and tasks are easily dispensed with through teamwork. If a health organization has harmony then the outcomes are almost definitely going to be positive. No person in any organization can be termed as inconsequential. An instance would be where a nurse would provide a newly posted doctor with very important tips that could lead to the life of a patient being saved. Team building activities have been seen to contribute a lot to the organization meeting and at time surpassing its expectations. There are risks which are involved. One risk is that of a team member becoming cynical of the organization in which they are serving. This could be as a result of the particular organization holding team building events which do not serve any purpose. This for example would be where an individual's norms are in consonance with those of the organization then a team building activity would serve very little purpose in such an instance. Team building activities at times do not get to be practiced at the work place. This could lead to team members failing to see any change as a result of the team building activities and these activities could be viewed as time wastage. References Buchbinder, S. & Shanks, N. (2011). Introduction to Health Care Management. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Drinka, T. J. K., & Clark, P. G. (2000). Health care teamwork: Interdisciplinary practice and teaching. Westport, Conn: Auburn. Niles, N. (2012). Basic Concepts of Health Care Human Resource Management. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Vyt, A. (2008). Interprofessional and transdisciplinary teamwork in health care.   Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews, 24(1):106-109. Weaver, S. et al. (2010). Does Teamwork Improve Performance in the Operating Room? A Multilevel Evaluation. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 36(3): 133-142. Read More