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Almost all sectors rely on teamwork, but one industry where this skill is more vital than any other is the healthcare industry.
When a person receives medical care, their treatment plan will be a culmination of various different departments within the medical sector. Most doctors specialise in specific fields, and they often ask each other for second opinions with reference to a diagnosis and treatment plan. When patients undergo treatment for multiple issues, doctors typically require input from several different medical professionals. This means that those who work within the healthcare sector need to be able to co-operate effectively with each other in order to ascertain the best outcome for the patient.
In addition to a better level of care for the patient, healthcare teams being able to work effectively together will reduce pressure on them in terms of their workload. Burnout amongst healthcare professionals is almost double that of any other job, with as many as 40% of UK doctors alone thought to fall victim to it. This results in health complications for the medical professionals, with roughly 37% of work-related illnesses coming from burnout. This translates to almost 24 days per year per medical worker being lost as a direct consequence, thus putting more strain on those who remain as they seek to cover the shortfall.
By sharing the workload through teamwork, those working in the healthcare sector are less likely to suffer from burnout, less likely to fall victim to a work-related illness, and less likely to require time off as a result. This means patients are able to access the best healthcare possible as staff perform at their best.
As medicine advances, there is more reliance on professionals working as part of a team – whether that’s in the setting of a care home when a care worker may need help dressing/bathing a resident, or if it’s in a hospital when care teams need to liaise with each other to discuss a patient’s treatment progress.
Most healthcare teams undergo experience working as part of a team during their training, but further training in the workplace may be needed for teams to fully gel and work cohesively. In most professional settings, when teams don’t work collaboratively mistakes will happen, but in the healthcare sector, these mistakes can be deadly which is why team training is essential.
In addition to making things run smoothly for the patient, team training will reduce rates of burnout which, as mentioned above, will be beneficial to the wellbeing of the healthcare worker. In turn, teams who feel comfortable and trusting of each other are far more likely to have good morale, which can go a long way to increasing staff retention rates.
So, the key is teamwork, but this is something that takes time and may need to be coaxed. In this instance, we can help.
If you work in the healthcare sector and feel like your team could benefit from some team-building training to increase collaboration and encourage better problem-solving skills, Team Challenge Company can provide the solution for you.
We offer a range of team-building activities, from remote team building to evening experiences and friendly competitions. In addition to team building, we also provide comprehensive workplace coaching programmes which can assist those in the medical sector to better their communication, integrate new members of the team and allow team members to openly ask questions and mentor each other, which is not always possible in a healthcare setting.
