Teamwork in Health and Social Care Case Study 2022

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Section 3 and Conclusion
Student’s Name
University
Date

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Section 3: Critically discuss multi-disciplinary teamwork in health and social care
Healthcare and social care by definition employ the practice of collaboration since they require professionals to work with each other to meet the needs of
the people that they serve. Healthcare and social care patients require services from different multidisciplinary teams within the clinical environment. Multidisciplinary
teams exist as a collaboration between different professionals who work together to achieve the required clinical needs of the patient or the client. This is defined as
two or more people interacting with a common purpose that is related to the needs of the client (Hartgerink, Cramm, Bakker, Mackenbach, & Nieboer 2014, p. 794).
Different patients require the skills and efforts of different professionals who work together in a multidisciplinary environment to achieve the needs of the patient. In
the clinical environment, multidisciplinary teams are used to provide integrated care due to the changing nature of diseases and conditions. As patient population demo-
graphics keep on changing, integrated work environments the needs of patients have also become varied thus calling for the need to require the intervention of multidis-
ciplinary teams.
The role of multidisciplinary teams has been specifically attributed to the benefits of increased coordination and communication. Cramm & Nieboer (2011,
p. 305) suggests that this is seen in the improved performance of interdependent works within the clinical environment. This leads to increased efficiency that is created
through the relationships that professionals have with each other. For example by working closely with each other and knowing the role that each of them plays within
the organization there is increased ability to meet the complex needs of patients. The relations that teams have with each other are defined by the team climate created
through organizational processes that determine the way professional relationships with each other (Epstein 2014, p. 299). In this case, organizational culture is one of
the important elements in meeting the needs of the organization and defining how members relate with each other. In this case, the success of multidisciplinary teams is
related to the nature of the organization and structures that have been put in place to allow coordination and easy communication of different professionals within the
clinical environment. Communication and coordination define the way multidisciplinary teams work together to meet the needs of the people being assisted within the
care environment.
Multidisciplinary teams have also been defined by increased patient safety through reduced medical errors and increased patient safety. In most cases,
multi-disciplinary teams provide an environment that allows easy definition of the needs of each of the people being served. In multidisciplinary work environments,
there is high collaboration between the different healthcare professionals which increases the ability to follow the required standards thus reducing the likelihood of er-
rors. Thomas (2011) By collaboratively working together, patient safety is increased in the healthcare and social care environment since each of the members tries to
work to meet the needs of the person being served. Since collaboration and communication creates an environment that allows people to work together, the benefits are

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reflected in the care process that people receive. Ven, Houterman, Steinweg, Scherpbier, & Willy Wijers (2010, p.6) argue that when professionals work together, there
are increased benefits that are derived from the patient in ensuring that professionals meet the needs of the organization. Medical errors arise when there are difficulties
in dealing with organizational needs to ensure that people work together to improve the environment that patients are served in.
Although multidisciplinary teams are defined by work flexibility, they do not automatically lead to communication and coordination among tasks. This
leads to tension between the professionals which in turn creates barriers to achieving the benefits of multidisciplinary teams. Martin & Finn (2011, p. 1059) suggests
that if a positive relationship is not fostered among the team members, it becomes difficult to meet the needs of the patients and clients and at the same time for the
members to work together. For example, there is a challenge in sharing of tasks and determining who should hold the decision making authority in a multidisciplinary
environment which trickles down to the failure to achieve the required quality of life. In most cases, multidisciplinary teams are supposed to have a high level of com-
munication and coordination to determine the way tasks are shared and distributed to each of the members of the team. This means that multidisciplinary teams do not
necessarily lead to the best outcomes in the clinical environment. There are organizational and individual barriers that create difficulties in achieving the benefits of
multidisciplinary teams.
Further, research has shown that for the organization to benefit from the multidisciplinary team environment, there are enablers that must be in place. The
first is the need to have a clear purpose which is defined by team members interacting with each other across professional and disciplinary boundaries. This is achieved
through team leadership that drives the members to achieve the desired patient goals (Barr & Dowding, 2019). For example, to work in such environments, the role of
the leader is to assist the members develop a care plan which will be used to set the goals that have to be achieved by each member of the team. Another important ele-
ment is institutional support to create a collaborative environment for the members of easily work with each other (Atwal & Caldwell, 2016). Then team leadership is
important for coordinating the activities and roles of the multidisciplinary team as a way of creating the best working environment. Steihaug, Johannessen, Adnanes,
Paulsen, & Mannion (2016, p. 4) add that for the members to work well with each other collaborative opportunities must be created through the creation of physical
space ad time for all the members to work and engage each other through an understanding of the roles that each one of them plays. This means that multidisciplinary
teams do not always lead to the best outcomes in the clinical environment due to the nature of the relationships that exist between the teams that are formed in the clini-
cal environment. In this case, multidisciplinary teams that can lead to difficulties in working with other members of the multidisciplinary team that affect the outcome
of clinical processes within the organization.