Benefits of Multidisciplinary Team in Healthcare

This report explores the benefits of a multidisciplinary team in a healthcare set up. It discusses the various working skills used by the team, leadership styles, communication skills, and how a cooperative and collaborative multidisciplinary team enhances patient care.

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Multidisciplinary Team
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Multidisciplinary Team
Summary
The use of multidisciplinary team in healthcare adds to employee and patient
satisfaction, improves outcome, and limits adverse events. Healthcare-based
multidisciplinary team often embraces all levels of health care providers on the
treatment pyramid which includes attending physicians, anaesthesiologists, social
workers, physical therapists, physician assistants, and nurses. The team is constantly
works in the operating room (OR), Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and emergency room
(ER). The multidisciplinary team breaks down barriers to communication between the
care providers, and offer better collaboration as well as cooperation among the medical
officers (Seidu, Khunti, and Davies 2017, p. 967). Using such cohesive measures or
approaches helps in limiting adverse effects such as mortality and morbidity, increases
patient satisfaction, reduces hospitalization or re-admissions, and improves patient
outcome. On a similar note, some of the other extra benefits to the team members
include increased job satisfaction, reduced cost, reduced complications, and increased
job performance. The healthcare facility also benefits by retaining experienced staff. It is
important for the hospital stakeholders, employees, and management to ensure that
multidisciplinary team work jointly for the good of the hospital, employees, and most
importantly patients. The hospital leadership ought to provide a favourable environment
for the work of the team. For example, the leadership should motivate the team through
awards for work well-done.
Introduction
Multidisciplinary team involves a group of health care employees who work in
diverse disciplines, for example, nurses, social workers, psychiatrists with each offering
a specific service or services to a patient. The members of team autonomously treat
different issues which the patient might be having by focusing on their areas of
specialization. The multidisciplinary team’s activities are jointly brought through a care
plan. The care plan coordinates the team’s services and aids them work together
toward a particular set of objectives. During a case conference regarding patients with
terminal or chronic medical conditions, the speakers stated that a patient’s
multidisciplinary care needs can only be accomplished through a coordinated and

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planned approach. The conference stressed on the importance of having a well-
coordinated multidisciplinary team when treating chronic medical conditions such as
stroke, musculoskeletal conditions, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, cancer,
and asthma (Casimiro et al. 2015, p. 57). Additionally, during a Board ward round I
noticed that patients require a structured approach to allow the care providers to plan as
well as co-ordinate the care complex disorders which require the services of a
multidisciplinary team. Therefore, the aim of this report is to explore the benefits of a
multidisciplinary team in a healthcare set up. Firstly, would discuss the various working
skills used by the team to offer a more effective care to the patients. Secondly, the
report would describe two distinct leadership styles used by the multidisciplinary team to
coordinate. Thirdly, the report would reflect on some of the communication skills needed
for an effective working multidisciplinary team and their importance in the setting. Lastly,
the paper would elucidate how a cooperative as well as collaborative multidisciplinary
team working promotes or enhances patients care.
Main Body
Team Working Skills Used by the Multidisciplinary Team Members
Team working skills are required to ensure the achievement of the set goal. One
of the team working skills I observed during the Board ward round used by the
multidisciplinary team members includes organizing and planning skills. Being
organized enabled the team to get tasks done perfectly. Completer-finisher,
implementers as well as shapers are characterized by good organizing skills (Abbasi et
al. 2016, p. 67). The team ensured time management and specified the role of each
member. Secondly, I noticed that the team utilizes decision-making skills to help it move
forward. The members take time to collect crucial information to ensure right decisions
are made. Moreover, the team’s members often compromised and one even gave up
his or her point or opinion in favour or support of the team’s shared decision (Gafa et al.
2018, p. 78). Lastly, the multidisciplinary team members employed problem-solving
skills to turn an idea into practical actions. They ensured the solution to any problem did
not lead to a change of the direction taken by the members.
Leadership styles Used by the Multidisciplinary Team Members

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One of the leadership styles used by the multidisciplinary team members
included affiliative leadership which is based on coordination. The members focused on
establishing positive relationship concentrated on loyalty and trust. The multidisciplinary
team used this style of leadership mostly when the members suffered from low morale
(Housley 2017, p. 343). The second leadership style included coaching leadership. The
coaching leadership style always pursues to develop a team which is founded on
individual potential strengths (MAS Medical Staffing, 2018). The team members were
usually are open to mentorship to aid in moulding their successes on the basis of
experience. The team also used the situational leadership style for adaptability. This
style of leadership is based on flexible attitude and critical thinking with the prowess of
modifying process to fill gaps (Blais 2015, p. 136). The team tended to adapt its
management style to the incidence or incident at hand. Lastly, the multidisciplinary team
used the democratic leadership to provide quality care. The team focused on listening to
views or opinions, keeping the communication open, respecting and valuing everybody,
and leading with commitment and confidence.
Communication Skills Required For Effective Team Working
Team-workers needed questioning, listening, and verbal communication skills to
ensure effective communication to ensure unexpressed difficulties and
misunderstandings do not exist between the group members. The members had the
ability to build or establish good rapport (Gluyas 2015, p. 50). This helped in
understanding of everyone’s opinion. It is important to note that building a good rapport
amidst the team members also helped in establishing a coherent team. Secondly, the
team utilized influencing and persuasion skills. For example, if the team was to arrive at
a shared decision, some members had to be convinced or influenced of the benefits of
the intended course of action. Another communication skills used for effective working
of the tem included facilitation skills (Pearson et al. 2015, p. 17. It is worthwhile noting
that the management of any process is essentially making it easy or facilitating it
(Thompson et al. 2011, p. 339). Good facilitation skills helped the team members to
provide care quickly. The team also employed conflict resolution skills to help in solving
problems related to difficult situations or conflicts. Lastly, the team used feedback skills
to receiving and give feedback. Effective and clear feedback to the members helped in

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keeping the team process running effectively and also aided in planning for the
subsequent action.
Benefits of Effective Collaborative Team to Patients Care
Effective collaborative increases the quality of care delivery (Weisfeld 2011, p.
121). Different health care providers were able to offer medical service to a patient in
their areas of specialization. Subsequently, the collaborative healthcare team increased
patient satisfaction and outcomes. Most of the treated patient appreciated the work of
the team. The patients were able to receive better services through the patient-cantered
approach, therefore, increasing their satisfaction (Bendaly & Bendaly, 2012, p. 126).
Collaboration in health care also had the potential to influence advancement in
knowledge which aided in spanning health promotion and great care for the chronically
sick (Weiss, Tilin & Morgan 2014, p. 234). The importance of collaboration among the
health care professions was that it provided the nurses with an equivalent role in the
provision of care, for instance, deciding on the courses of care thereafter making
decision on how the health care system worked or operate. According to Hamric, 2013,
those hospitals where physicians and nurses have virtuous collaborative relationship
and allow nurses to participate in the firm’s decisions have got better patients’
outcomes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, multidisciplinary team plays a significant role in saving lives, and
reducing morbidity as well as mortality. It is important to note that the use of
multidisciplinary team in the healthcare system adds to employee and patient
satisfaction, improves outcome, and limits adverse events. The multidisciplinary team
activities or services require a lot of organization, planning, coordination, cooperation,
and collaboration to avoid errors or mistakes. Team working skills are required to
ensure the achievement of the set goal and some of the team working skills used by the
multidisciplinary team members include organizing and planning skills, decision-making
skills as well as problem-solving skills. In the same vein, the team-workers need
questioning, listening and verbal communication skills to ensure the team
communicates effectively to make certain that unexpressed difficulties and
misunderstandings do not exist between the group members. Some of the

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communications skills needed in the Team-workers need questioning, listening verbal
communication skills to ensure the team communicates effectively to make certain that
unexpressed difficulties and misunderstandings do not exist between the group
members include persuasion and influencing skills, facilitation skills, and conflict
resolution skills. Good facilitation skills would help the team members to provide care
quickly. The team also need to have conflict resolution skills to help in solving problems
related to difficult situations or conflicts. Most importantly, the multidisciplinary team
should employ a collaborative team working to provide better services to the customers
or patients. Effective collaborative increases the quality of care delivery. Different health
care providers are able to offer medical service to a patient in their areas of
specialization. Subsequently, a collaborative healthcare team increases patient
satisfaction and outcome.

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