Combination of Interventions Needed to Improve Teamwork

Because individual interventions address only some of the barriers to effective teamwork in hospitals, the authors of an article in the January 2012 Journal of Hospital Medicine recommend that hospitals implement a combination of interventions. The article reviews the literature on teamwork in hospitals. In hospital settings, better teamwork has been found to be associated with higher patient satisfaction, better retention of nurses, and lower hospital costs. The five core components of teamwork are team leadership, mutual performance monitoring, backup behavior, adaptability, and team orientation. To be effective, teamwork must be supported by a shared mental model, closed-loop communication, and mutual trust.