Teamwork and training of healthcare professionals

Abstract

Health care is increasingly emphasising the team approach in which all the health care professionals adopt and develop new skills against a background of new forms of service delivery, a rise in patient expectations, staff shortages and a need for cost containment. This represents a paradigm shift from the paternalistic approach to the concept of shared care. Team-working is seen as a way of tackling the potential fragmentation of care and to widen skills. The main objectives of teambuilding training and teamwork are the continuous improvement in the quality of health care and patient satisfaction. I would like to base this presentation on two important and challenging questions: Should we promote teambuilding and interdisciplinary training for the health care professionals? Should we promote a shared ethical code for all health care professionals? I shall be considering these questions from my perspective as a member of the Bioethics Consultative Committee.