How can communication among the healthcare providers from many disciplines caring for critically ill patients be fostered so that the patients receive high quality care with minimal errors?

As a team member listening to the message, you should ask questions for clarity and understanding. For example, how might a daily goals sheet help us care for the patient with hypertensive urgency? The distribution of complex patient information among disciplines is a constant challenge in the ICU. Taking time to contact each team member individually to inform them of the plan of care creates redundancy and leads to lost time. Creating tools like the daily goal sheets, discussing the patient’s care in a multiprofessional team setting, and outlining the objectives of the day will generate an efficient and streamlined approach to your work.

For more information on this topic click here.

Proven Strategies for Keeping a Team on Track
Originally printed in the December issue of Critical Connections Volume 3, Number 6

One of the keys to a successful ICU team is clear and concise communication. There are many tools available to improve the way messages are being delivered and received. Active listening, positive voice tone, daily goal sheets, those pieces play an important part of accurately getting the message across to every member of the multiprofessional team. Communication can guarantee accuracy, safety and efficiency thus improving the quality of patient care.

For more information on this topic click here.

Making a Change
Originally printed in the October 2004 issue of Critical Connections Volume 3, Number 5

The multiprofessional team approach in caring for critically ill patients has many benefits including improved outcomes and lowered healthcare costs. Even though currently there are studies and statistics supporting patient-centered multiprofessional care, many critical care practitioners struggle with implementing changes in their units. Creating an environment that allows for teamwork to blossom can be challenging.

For more information on this topic click here.

Newsletter

The Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) has recognized and promoted the concept of a multiprofessional team approach in critical care for more than 30 years. Critical care professionals know that a multiprofessional team approach to patient care will help to reduce redundancy, provide coordinated care, and assist with developing solutions to complex problems of the changing patient status. This can all lead to enhanced quality, lower costs and reduced errors. This Web page was developed as a teambuilding resource for everyone in the critical care profession – ranging from those planning to implement the multiprofessional team concept in their ICU to others who are just looking to build their teambuilding skills.

Originally Published in the SCCM eNewsletter - Week of March 17th, 2005


Avoiding Groupthink in Your Team

Groupthink is an interesting term. You may be asking, “What is groupthink and does my team do it?” The term “groupthink” was coined by the late Yale psychologist Irving Janis. Janis defined groupthink as “a way of thinking that people may adopt when they are members of a cohesive or homogeneous group; in particular, a group whose members seek unanimity of thought to the point that they cannot consider alternative ideas” (Harvard Business Essentials, 2004).

Groupthink can be a double-edged sword for a team. While groupthink allows team members to identify around norms or similarities, it prevents critical thinking and debate. Team members and leaders come together to discuss and problem solve an issue or develop a better process to complete a job. They may not always agree. Without disagreement, creativity can be lost.

Your team may be experiencing the negative effects of group think if:

• An illusion of invulnerability prevails
• Leaders are insulated or protected from contradictory evidence
• Members accept confirming data and reject data that fails to fit their views
• Alternatives are not considered
• Individuals with conflicting views are discounted or demonized
  (Harvard Business Essentials, 2004).
  
  Changes can be made to avoid groupthink in your team. Leaders must take steps to welcome diversity of thoughts and ideas. They can empower team members to have open discussions and offer ideas. A range of different thoughts will stimulate debate, create an opportunity to generate discussion, and promote a solution to the issue.
  
  Reference:
  Harvard Business Essentials. "Creating Teams with an Edge." Boston Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press; 2004.

Originally Published in the SCCM eNewsletter - Week of February 17th, 2005

Do You Really Need a Team?

When a project needs to be completed, a question often arises as to whether it should be done by a team. The decision depends upon what needs to be accomplished. If the project is complex, if it requires specific individuals with certain skills and knowledge, and if the work must be coordinated by a leader, then a team would need to be formed.

Teams are most beneficial when:

• The right individuals with the right expertise, knowledge, skill set, and perspective are present.
• Individuals coordinate their talents and work interdependently to complete the project.
• The project represents a unique challenge that requires these individuals to work together.
  

There are many benefits to working as a team:

• Teams have a synergy that produces creative solutions to problems.
• Group decision making produces buy-in among the people who must implement the decision.
• Team members are brought together to use their skills to resolve problems.
• Team members can enlist more information and know-how by tapping into their many networks.
• Team members learn to communicate and collaborate with each other, which would not happen if they were working individually.
  

When considering whether or not to develop a team, ask yourself:

• How complex is the project?
• Does one person have the expertise, skill set and knowledge to complete the project?
• Does the project require a leader to coordinate activities?
  

Reference:
Harvard Business Essentials: Creating Teams with an Edge. Boston, Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press; 2004.

Communication

Communication is one of the most challenging aspects of human behavior.  Communication involves two parts, the message and the meaning.  When working in multiprofessional teams, diverse groups of people comprise that team.  A message is stated, but the interpretation of the meaning may be very different to each individual team member.   As a team leader, you may ask, “how will I know that my message was received with the intent I wanted?”

Here are some tips that may help in communicating with your team:

• Developing strategies for remaining calm in high workload stressful situations.  This includes more verbalization, verbalizations that relates to problem solving, speaking in first person plural, and coordinating tasks to the right person’s experience level.
• Encourage input from team members.  Offering positive feedback builds confidence, reduces stress and clarifies ambiguities.
• Provide a verbal nod while listening.   Giving some form of verbal reaction such as a nod, can prevent repeated and unnecessary verbalizations that increase risk due to delay and lack of feedback.
• Speak simply.  Communicating with simple words is more effective than speaking with elaborate words.  As memory is taxed with information, the more simply the message, the better the results.

 
Reference:

Sexton, J.B. (2004). Golden Rules of Group Interaction in High Risk
Environments: Evidence based suggestions for improving performance.
Book. Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz Foundation and Swiss Re Centre for
Global Dialogue. Ladenburg & Rueschlikon.
         

Team Evaluations

Critical care health care professionals use evaluation processes continually to determine the progress of their patients.  Goals are set for patients to achieve and are re-evaluated constantly.  This information is used to provide feedback to other health care professionals and patient families. The methodology used to measure each patient’s progress is varied.  Outcome measures and daily goal sheets are just samples of tools that can be used by a multiprofessional team.
 
Evaluation of the multiprofessional team as a whole is also important.  It is important to know how well the team members are communicating with each other, have the team goals been met, and does the team leader and team members work well together.  There are several methods that can be used to evaluate a team.  They are:  benchmarking against a similar team; identifying if the team has met the original goals and schedules; using an outside consultant to observe the team and provide feedback; using informal, regular meetings to discuss the team’s progress; and implementing debriefing sessions to discuss the team process.   Any of these tools can help to assess the progress of the team.  It is important to evaluate teams so ongoing improvements can be identified and implemented.   

Reference:

Harvard Business Essentials.  Creating Teams with an Edge.  Boston Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press; 2004.