Teams That Work: Modeling and Teaching Effective Interprofessional Collaboration

Description
Effective teams are necessary for productive interprofessional education and collaborative practice. To prepare graduates who can serve as competent, caring, and effective team members, then the process of modelling and building effective teams and collaboration should be exemplified during health professions education. Some would say that academic collaboration is something of an oxymoron, often driven by long-standing academic traditions, working in our respective silos, and financial incentives that often continue to challenge collaboration. Even though students who enter our programs often idealistic about the promise of interprofessional collaboration, they soon become aware of this tension and often acclimate to it over time.

Tannebaum and Salas (2021), well-known researchers in organizations and team training, have identified 7 evidence-based drivers of effective teams: capability, cooperation, coordination, communication, cognition, coaching and conditions. This seminar teaches core elements of the 7 C’s, their application, and how they can be applied in participants’ professional settings. The seminar will prepare participants to build effective interprofessional and collaborative teams that model best practices in interprofessional health sciences and education with and for learners.

Participants will:
1. Describe seven drivers of effective teams;
2. Discuss common teamwork myths and their application in interprofessional teams;
3. Apply 7 drivers of team effectiveness to specific cases; and
4. Generate 1-2 action items to implement in their respective settings.

Active Learning
Following a brief overview of the evidence supporting effective teamwork practices and led by a team with experience teaching and implementing the 7C’s in practice and educational settings, participants will discuss myths and drivers of effective teams and how they interact with each other to create barriers and enablers to effective teamwork. Participants will review case scenarios, apply the 7C’s, and then briefly report how they could improve team performance and help plan subsequent team development.

Assessment
Participants will record their understanding of the concept of effective teams at the beginning of the session and then describe how the session helped them to recognize where they can improve performance on their own teams. At the end, participants will reflect on the most important knowledge, skills, or attitudes learned and write a commitment to change pertinent to their interprofessional education and collaborative practice efforts.

References
1. Eichbaum Q. Collaboration and teamwork in the health professions: rethinking the role of conflict. Acad Med. 2018;93(4): 574-580.
2. Lacerenza C, Tannebaum S, Marlow S, Salas E. Team development interventions: evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork. American Psychologist. 2018; 73(4): 517-531.
3. Reeves, S., Fletcher, S., Barr, H., Birch, I., Boet, S., Davies, N., Kitto, S. (2016). A BEME systematic review of the effects of interprofessional education: BEME Guide No. 39. Medical Teacher, 38, 656-668.
4. Tannenbaum S, Salas E. Teams that Work: The Seven Drivers of Team Effectiveness. New York, NY; Oxford Press: 2021.
5. Thibault G. The future of health professions education: emerging trends in the United States. FASEBBioadvances. 2020;2(12)85-694.
6. Salas E, Bisbey T, Traylor A, Rosen M. Can teamwork promote safety in organizations? Annu Rev Organ Psychol Organ Behav. 2020;7: 283-313.