Cross-functional teams (CFT) in healthcare are important units that might help attain better outcomes. It can be determined as a team combining multiple organizations or departments to collaborate and work on a project (Alexander et al., 2005). For a CFT addressing service excellence, certain representatives should be included. Core team members should include physicians, registered nurses, therapists, and pharmacists (Alexander et al., 2005). Second, representatives of the community should be engaged. These might be volunteers or social workers aware of the current complaints and the need for enhancement or specialists in particular areas (Alexander et al., 2005). Social workers might perform the roles of administrators, while nurses and other health workers should perform their primary functions.
As with any CFT, the team will pass through the five stages of its development. At the forming stage, all members might show eagerness to cooperate (Kumar et al., 2014). In the discussed CFT, all individuals are ready to work and address the problem. The storming stage implies a lack of participation and resistance (Kumar et al., 2014). For the CFT, the absence of previous experience and clear roles might result in competition. The norming stage is characterized by the understanding of the goals (Kumar et al., 2014). For the proposed CFT, it means that all members start acting together to attain a shared mission. The highest motivation levels are typical for the performing stage (Kumar et al., 2014). It is expected that CFT will show better performance and resolve complex issues. Finally, the adjourning stage is associated with the recognition of efforts (Kumar et al., 2014). In this case, the team might stop its work as the goals are achieved or new ones are introduced.
Altogether, CFT is a potent tool to address specific issues existing within the healthcare sector. By establishing optimal team composition, distributing roles, and creating a safe environment, it is possible to build high-performance units. (Rabkin & Frein, 2021). Moving through different development stages, the team might learn how to cooperate and resolve issues by combining efforts.
References
Alexander, J. A., Lichtenstein, R., Jinnett, K., Wells, R., Zazzali, J., & Liu, D. (2005). Cross-functional team processes and patient functional improvement. Health Services Research, 40(5 Pt 1), 1335–1355. Web.
Kumar, S., Deshmukh, V., & Adhish, V. S. (2014). Building and leading teams. Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 39(4), 208–213. Web.
Rabkin, S. W., & Frein, M. (2021). Overcoming obstacles to develop high-performance teams involving physician in health care organizations. Healthcare, 9(9), 1136. Web.