Understanding Teamwork in Health Care

The experts agree: Understanding Teamwork in Health Care is a true must-read

“This is a much-needed addition to the training curriculum of anyone involved in the healthcare industry.” — James Townsend, DHSc., MBA, MIS (A. T. Still University) and Doody’s Review Service“Our health care can be magnificently effective, but, without constant coordination and cooperation, its technologies and specialization can be the front doors to confusing complexity and risky fragmentation. Better teamwork improves every aspect of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s ‘Triple Aim’–patients’ experience of health care, the health of our populations, and the cost of providing care. In this book, Dr. Mosser and Professor Begun have given us a superb guide for better teamwork. Their account is based on sound evidence and compelling concepts, but it is also eminently practical. Nearly 100 stories of teamwork—mostly exemplary, sometimes cautionary—illustrate what it means for patients, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and others to work together in effective harmony.” — Donald M. Berwick, MD, MPP, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

“Best health outcomes are often the result of an extremely competent, completely connected team of caregivers, working with an empowered patient who is the absolute central focus and sometimes the team quarterback. Drs. Mosser and Begun grasp the critical importance of healthcare team members working as equals despite titles or disciplines of practice. This is an engaging, enlightening, entertaining must-read for clinicians currently working in the field of health care, those considering the profession, people teaching potential caregivers, and anyone interested in the future of how we can deliver best health care at lowest cost through cohesive teams.” — George C. Halvorson, Chairman and CEO, Kaiser Permanente

“Dr. Mosser and Dr. Begun blend clinical vignettes and science in a highly readable book to help us understand the importance and diversity of health care teams. The authors’ conceptual frameworks are intellectually compelling, and their vignettes capture those concepts in action. Members of every type of health care team will find this book to be a valuable resource. Read the first three chapters. You won’t be able to resist the pleasure of reading the rest of the book.” — Linda Cronenwett, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor and Dean Emeritus, School of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

“The team-based models developing in progressive health care call for a comprehensive and insightful guidebook. Understanding Teamwork in Health Care meets this need. It provides pharmacists and other health care professionals with the foundational knowledge necessary to be members of effective clinical teams.” — Joseph DiPiro, Pharm D, Professor and Executive Dean, South Carolina College of Pharmacy

This important guide focuses on the core skills necessary to effectively implement teamwork in a complex hospital or primary care setting. The book’s mission is to make often-overlooked perspectives about teamwork more widely known and used. No matter what your prior level of team involvement may be, this is the one resource that will help you adeptly participate in, lead, or manage teams. Unlike other texts that rely heavily on theory and healthcare policy, this indispensable reference offers a realistic, practical look at the challenges and many opportunities of teamwork.

Reflecting the authors’ 30-plus years of hands-on experience, the text begins with a basic overview of healthcare teams and team members. Subsequent sections highlight how effective teams function; provide expert insights for evaluating and improving healthcare teams; and illuminate the role of senior leadership in advancing teamwork.

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