Peer Review Article

Beau Zahn

11/08/2014

Collaboration and Teamwork

Mrs. Cottone

Collaboration is an intricate concept with multiple attributes. It is defined in a variety of ways, many of them explicitly referring to interdisciplinary collaboration. Attributes identified by several nurse authors include sharing of planning, making decisions, solving problems, setting goals, assuming responsibility, working together cooperatively, communicating, and coordinating openly. Teamwork and collaboration are often used synonymously. One strategy to encourage positive teamwork is to avoid the blame game. Nurses must stop blaming others for problems that exist in nursing (Alberto, Herth, 2005). It is counterproductive and unprofessional to blame physicians, administrators, organizations, or other nurses for the frustrating and disappointing aspects of present-day nursing.

Cohesiveness and joint problem solving are the desired results of collaborative teamwork. However, nurses and physicians will not always agree. There must be the freedom to disagree. In fact, when managed correctly, conflict is actually a desirable element. Without it, the trap of groupthink can occur, in which case creative, contradictory solutions are suppressed in the interest of maintaining consensus and peaceful relationships. It takes only one difficult personality to cast a pall of dominance, negativity, or distraction that derails collaborative efforts. Fortunately, productivity and positivity can counteract debilitating influences and restore team productivity if there is consistent, courageous, and deliberate leadership. Team-leaders must be mature, must value consensus, and must be unwilling to settle for less than productive dialogue.

Collaborative interactions are most effective and rewarding when they are efficient. When information is exchanged in emergency situations, for instance, it is critical to prioritize, to leave out peripheral data, and to provide current information. June and Kaye (2009) offers...