Today’s increasingly complex health care landscape requires coordination of moving parts.

From a patient’s intake to evaluation to treatment and follow-up, any breakdown in the system affects patient outcome. To deliver quality patient care and maintain a positive work environment, teamwork in nursing is essential.

What Does Teamwork in Nursing Look Like?

In routine care, a team may be as simple as a medical clerk, a registered nurse (RN) and a primary care provider.

Specialists may be involved, including therapists, pharmacists and dietitians, in complex care situations. For critical issues, teams may include varying levels of nurses, doctors of different specialties, technicians, social workers and clergy.

Each team member contributes to the patient’s experience. There are many positive outcomes, including higher workplace satisfaction and improved patient care, when members work in sync with each other.

Fostering collaboration among team members requires leadership. Since family nurse practitioners (FNPs) are trained to evaluate situations from multiple perspectives, they are uniquely positioned to promote teamwork in nursing as they work alongside RNs and multidisciplinary teams.

How Does Teamwork in Nursing Impact the Patient?

Knowing how to promote teamwork in nursing is essential to improving patient outcomes.

Nurses are the front line of health care and touch every aspect of the patient’s journey. Health care teams are more impactful when the nursing front is unified.

In an article published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the authors emphasized the critical nature of teamwork in today’s context.

“The ambition of delivering quality patient care is subject to high performance through patient-focused teams.”

Teamwork in nursing emphasizes shared goals that guide the team in an integrated way. This cooperation uses each team member’s unique skills and strengths.