Nursing Assignment HS3202: Teamwork in Clinical Settings

This report analyzes the critical role of teamwork and effective communication in nursing management. The assignment begins with a discussion of the benefits and implications of teamwork, followed by a reflective analysis of a clinical scenario involving poor communication and unprofessional conduct among nursing staff. The student applies Bruce Tuckman's theory of team development, emphasizing forming, storming, norming, and performing stages, along with conflict resolution strategies to improve teamwork. The analysis highlights the importance of trust, clear instructions, and adherence to ethical standards, referencing the Singapore Nursing Board Code. The report concludes with insights on how the student would apply these lessons to promote a positive work environment and enhance patient care. The assignment underscores the significance of effective communication and team management in boosting the confidence of new staff nurses and improving patient outcomes.

Running head: NURSING ASSIGNMENT
TEAM WORK IN NURSING MANAGEMENT
INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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This assignment discusses about the importance of team work and effective
communication among the nursing professionals working in the healthcare organisation.
Team work plays an integral role in the nursing profession. The primary reason for the same
can be explained as the requisite of the nursing profession to maintain an effective inter
professional communication and coordination so as to deliver positive care and acquire
positive patient outcome.
In this paper, I would discuss about the benefits, implications and importance of team
work and effective communication and would present a reflective analysis on one of the
clinical scenarios that I experienced during my previous clinical placement.
The clinical scenario took place during my previous placement where I was working
with other student nurses and were working under the supervision of a senior RN. It was a
week day and nurse B was supposed to hand over the progress notes to senior nurse A at the
commencement of the afternoon shift. Senior nurse B was extremely arrogant and rude and
Nurse A was extremely scared to communicate with nurse B.
Nurse A was particularly angry because of the poor staff attendance that day as most
of the nursing professionals were on medical leave. A total of 10 patients were supposed to
be managed that day and four of the student nurses were taking care of the patients receiving
chemotherapy.
The patients were however stable but there was no clear communication or set of
instructions that were given to the student nurses which made the working environment
extremely chaotic. Further, Nurse A openly insulted Nurse A for minor errors and was also
gossiping about Nurse A with another nurse in front of Nurse B. This made the work

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environment extremely unprofessional and I believe that Nurse A did not abide by the
nursing standard of ethics and propagated a poor work culture.
After introspecting upon the situation after the clinical experience, I was able to
understand that the behavior and attitude of the senior nursing staff was negative and the
impact of this situation affected the moral and confidence of the student and junior nursing
professionals.
Therefore, the major impact of this situation was ineffective team work, improper
management of the nursing condition, at the center of it. Hence, as per Arnold and Boggs
(2019), a proper nursing management concept or theory should be implemented in this
situation so that a proper team work could be reestablished in the nursing care process and
with the communication and interaction between the senior and junior nursing professional, a
proper nursing team could be implemented.
The nursing management concept that should be implemented in this condition for the
effectiveness of the care process is the Bruce Tuckman’s theory combination of effective
communication and conflict resolution which includes forming, storming, norming and
performing. As per Foronda, MacWilliams and McArthur (2016), this theory helps to develop
effective communication to provide clear and concise idea about ones thinking and action to
the others due to which nursing professionals that are involved in the care process would be
able to understand each other’s perspective about a condition. Finally, with the application
adjourning, proper communication and analyse of the situation, they would be able to divide
their work, as it helps to destroy the age old notions and develop or start a communication
upon which, team work depends.
This nursing management concept is widely implemented in the care processes
throughout care facilities and for effective communication between professionals, healthcare

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facility’s management arrange sessions so that communication and interaction among staff
could be improved. In this situation, I witnessed that majority of the misunderstandings and
conflicts arise in the care process due to the lack of trust and belief between the senior and
junior nursing staff and the lack of trust upon the student nursing professionals (Norouzinia et
al., 2016).
The senior nursing professional did not trust the ability of the junior nursing and
student nursing professionals and due to which she did not included them in the care process
and affected the information chain. Hence, application of effective communication related
nursing management strategy such as Bruce Tuckman's theory would help the senior
nursing professional to converse with the staff and student nurses that lack experience and
understand their perspective about the care process.
Further, she would also understand the importance of communication and transfer of
information for the effective and quality healthcare process. Hence, as per Thomson et al.
(2015), application of effective communication in this above- mentioned clinical situation
would be an effective step for the development of teamwork and enhancement of the quality
care process.
Application of conflict resolution is another step of this nursing management that
should be implemented in this condition for the development and enhancement of the
teamwork in the care scenario. It was seen that majority of the junior and nurse B staff, were
afraid of the senior nursing professionals due to her improper attitude and the fear of conflict
in the care facility. Hence, there should be a conflict resolution aspect implemented in the
care situation so that a healthy and positive team could be developed. Hence, these are the
nursing management concepts that should be implemented for a better and modified
teamwork in the care scenario mentioned.

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From my complete personal experience, I was confident that effective communication
and team management is very important in order to motivate and boost the confidence of the
new staff nurses. Effective teamwork will allow the new members to understand the work
more precisely and acquire new skills and understanding of how to manage and tackle the
patients in different situation.
Though my personal experience in the clinical setting was bad, I had introspected and
strategized that I would myself approach the senior staff members and ask them for clear
instructions that should be followed for managing the patients. From my personal experience,
I had learned that proper instruction form the seniors and effective team work is beneficial for
understanding and managing the patient as being the nurse we have to handle different
patients who are suffering from various health condition.
As mentioned in the Singapore Nursing Board Code developed for nurses and
midwives (2019), the standard 5 of the practice mentions that it is important for the nursing
professionals to implement teamwork and collaboration so that people could be provided with
effective and quality care in the care facilities (Singapore Nursing Board, 2019). Further, as
per the 5.2 standard of the codes it is advised that the nurses and midwives should be
included in the open and supportive care so that effective teamwork and nursing
professional’s relationships could be obtained (Singapore Nursing Board, 2019).
My personal experience has helped me to understand how internship in any clinical
setting functions and what should be dome and adopted to handle such situations. According
to the nursing and midwifery council (NMC) of Singapore Nursing Board, an individual code
is present for professional staff and quality services, which will govern and manage the
nursing professional standard in order to fulfil the responsibility of being a nurse.

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This code highlights that the nurses should practice all the possible form of
communication and should be clear on their decision-making capability. The major advantage
of following the guidelines based on NMC is that it will support the staff members to
maintain high level of professionalism and also improve the safety and quality of care
(Nmc.org.uk, 2019).
Hence, while concluding the paper, I would mention that the organization will gain a
clear idea of what the nurses and midwives should do and maintain their communication level
by effective teamwork. The good nursing and midwifery care standard should also be
followed as it will encourage the staff members to take appropriate decision and promote
trust and professionalism among themselves.

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References
Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2019). Interpersonal Relationships E-Book: Professional
Communication Skills for Nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Foronda, C., MacWilliams, B., & McArthur, E. (2016). Interprofessional communication in
healthcare: An integrative review. Nurse education in practice, 19, 36-40.
Singapore Nursing Board (2019). The Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour
for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. Retrieved 28 July 2019, from
https://www.healthprofessionals.gov.sg/snb/home/Announcements/Index/code-for-
nurses-and-midwives
Norouzinia, R., Aghabarari, M., Shiri, M., Karimi, M., & Samami, E. (2016).
Communication barriers perceived by nurses and patients. Global journal of health
science, 8(6), 65.
Thomson, K., Outram, S., Gilligan, C., & Levett-Jones, T. (2015). Interprofessional
experiences of recent healthcare graduates: A social psychology perspective on the
barriers to effective communication, teamwork, and patient-centred care. Journal of
interprofessional care, 29(6), 634-640.