Using Teams to Improve Outcomes and Performance.

Mastering the use of teams in healthcare organizations can maximize outcomes and optimize the use of resources. Most work in healthcare organizations is done by teams, whether it's the clinical team taking care of patients on a unit, the leadership team accountable for operations of the organization, or a team formed to solve a specific problem, improve quality, or plan an event. Effective teams make organizations successful; ineffective teams can create more problems than they solve. This article describes how to successfully use the power of teams within the healthcare setting, create and develop teams, be a team leader or member, create conditions for team effectiveness and high performance, and provide team training.