Importance of Team Work in Nursing

A nurse is only as good as the team around her, and a nurse who cannot ask questions of her co-workers is extremely hampered. Nursing is so complex it must be discussed and talked about, shared and delegated. That is why teamwork in nursing is so important. It is vital not only to the nurse, but to the patient as well. Nurses who work together make the best outcomes for their patients.

Job Satisfaction

• Nurses who work together during their shift have a greater sense of job satisfaction and less stress. When nurses approach a situation as a team it is easier to break it down into small, manageable parts. Nurses work together to tackle critical patients, new admissions or heavy loads and reduce the amount of stress these events can cause. That can lead to increased job satisfaction because there is less stress to deal with.

Higher Quality of Care

• Patients will experience a higher quality of care when nurses work as a team. Teamwork fosters the idea that a patient does not belong to just one nurse. This benefits the patient because when he is in distress, any nurse can answer his bell and provide care to him. Only nurses working in a team system would think this way and that is a benefit to the patient who may need help.

Increase in Patient Safety

• Patients not only benefit from having team-based nurses care for them, they are also safer. If a patient is about to fall, the primary nurse may not be around to prevent that fall. A nurse working in a team-based paradigm would be able to prevent that fall and keep the patient safe. Team nurses do not concern themselves with what patients are assigned to them. This helps keep patients safe because it means that any nurse will help any patient at any time.

Support for Inexperienced Staff

• Graduate nurses and nurses new to the unit benefit greatly from team nursing. When nurses work as a team a new nurse can ask questions and ask for help without fear of interrupting or being told no. This helps the new nurse strengthen her clinical skills. Nurses who feel safe in asking for help can learn from more experienced nurses. Team nursing encourages asking for help and sharing the workload and that helps new nurses to flourish.