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Risk Management: Teamwork and Communication Summary

Author: Capella Healthcare

what's covered
In this lesson, you will learn about the progress of teamwork and communication for primary care and the challenges that lay ahead. Specifically, this lesson will cover:
  1. Progress and Challenges Ahead
  2. Practical Tips for Healthcare Professionals
  3. Resources

1. Progress and Challenges Ahead

Teamwork does not just happen. It takes commitment and understanding of the characteristics of successful teams, knowledge of how teams function, and techniques for maintaining effective team behavior. Strong leadership and organizational culture will factor into team performance and team members' willingness to speak up when there is a concern. It is important to improve teamwork and communication, especially in high-risk areas and with any handoff or transition of care. Patients are integral members of the team and must be included in the decisions that are made about their care. Patient safety depends on your ability to be an effective team member.

big idea
It is important to implement these principles into the fabric of your work.


2. Practical Tips for Healthcare Professionals

Below are some practical tips for health-care professionals to practice at work:

  • Always introduce yourself to the team.
  • Read back, close the communication loop.
  • State the obvious to avoid assumptions.
  • Ask questions, check, and clarify.
  • Delegate tasks to specific people, not to the air.
  • Clarify your role.
  • Use objective (not subjective) language.
  • Learn and use people’s names.
  • Be assertive when required.
  • If something doesn’t make sense, find out the other person’s perspective.
  • Always do a team briefing before starting a team activity and a debrief afterward.
  • When in conflict, concentrate on “what” is right for the patient, not “who” is right or wrong.
<b>8 tips for High-quality Hand-offs</b>Source: The Joint Commission. (2017). Sentinel Event Alert 58: Inadequate hand-off communication. https://www.jointcommission.org/resources/patient-safety-topics/sentinel-event/sentinel-event-alert-newsletters/sentinel-event-alert-58-inadequate-hand-off-communication/
8 tips for High-quality Hand-offs

Source: The Joint Commission. (2017). Sentinel Event Alert 58: Inadequate hand-off communication. https://www.jointcommission.org/resources/patient-safety-topics/sentinel-event/sentinel-event-alert-newsletters/sentinel-event-alert-58-inadequate-hand-off-communication/

3. Resources

For further information on Teamwork and Communication, visit

Authored by Cindy Ebner, MSN, RN, CPHRM, FASHRM


Support

If you are struggling with a concept or terminology in the course, you may contact RiskManagementSupport@capella.edu for assistance.

If you are having technical issues, please contact learningcoach@sophia.org.