The importance of teamwork in healthcare: case from a Greek hospital

Abstract

There has been a growing support for the use of interprofessional teamwork across health and social care organizations. The best and most cost-effective outcomes for patients are achieved when professionals work together, learn together, engage in clinical audit of outcomes together, and generate innovation to ensure progress in practice and service. Medical and nursing / obstetric staff of a general hospital in Northern Greece participated in a teamwork survey. The aim of the study is to identify the differences of the health professionals toward the components of teamwork, as well as if age affects the attitude of the employees concerning these components. The analysis of the survey data revealed, that between the two working groups (medical & nursing / obstetric) there are not serious deviations in their attitude towards the examined components of the teamwork. Differences were mainly observed between age groups, showing that experienced employees are more positive towards teamwork, while new employees with less experience are not so. Organizations should promote teamwork, encouraging and supporting employees. Moreover, it is essential the educational institutes to include teamwork competences in their curriculum, providing the required skills to their students, before they will be members of a team in a health care organization.