Factors Influencing Team Working and Strategies to Facilitate Successful Collaborative Teamwork (Professional Perspective) (Report‪)‬

INTRODUCTION "Team working is increasingly vital for the delivery of effective health and social care services" (Forte and Fowler, 2009, p. 58). The current expectation in Canada and Europe, at least, is that health professionals will engage in collaborative practice that supports patient-centred care (Suter, Arndt, Arthur, Parboosungh, Taylor and Deutschlander, 2009). The drive for collaborative practice is reinforced further in the World Health Organisation Annual Report (2008) that notes the importance of collaborative teamwork. Collaborative teamwork occurs when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds work together in a team, problem solving, coordinating care, learning together, and networking with communities, as they deliver quality care to patients and families (Barr and Ross, 2009). However, research suggests that "professionals will not collaborate if the effort is only based on the notion that it will be good for clients" (D'Amour, Ferrada-Videla, San Martin Rodirguez and Beaulieu, 2005, p. 128). In other words, collaborative teamwork may be a political ideal but whether it is supported by individual professionals is another matter. Part of the problem is that modern-day collaborative teamwork is a sophisticated skill and some professions are better at it than others. It requires effective interactions and the sharing of knowledge and expertise in a team, in a way that optimises partnership working with both clients and colleagues (D'Amour and Oandsan, 2005).