T—Team

Abstract

The interdisciplinary team is central to the labors of the palliative care nurse. Nurses need team communication skills to lead the palliative care team or establish leadership within the team. Team-building skills include encouraging other team members to actively contribute during team decision-making, fostering opposing viewpoints when they arise in care planning, and evaluating team goals and communication processes. This chapter presents an overview of team communication, focusing on interdisciplinary collaboration and interprofessional practice and warning against communication processes that lead to groupthink. In truly collaborative teams, intellectual resources are utilized; there is a commitment to interprofessional care, respect among team members, inclusion of individuals with diverse perspectives, effective meeting leadership, systems of mutual support and accountability, and productive time management focused on new information relevant to patient/family care.