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Multidisciplinary teams are composed of more than one group that work together to perform complementary tasks to reach a common goal. It is stated that effective multidisciplinary teams offer a more effective way of working, as they avoid the duplication often seen when a number of groups work disparately towards similar aims.
In recent years, multidisciplinary teamworking has been adopted, particularly in the public sector, as a way of collaborating service providers. For example, by bringing together health and social care professionals within the health service. The emphasis is now on how a range of complementary skills and knowledge from a number of different groups can be effectively deployed in the interests of efficient and effective service provision. This has been driven by a renewed focus on end users and the need for more efficient services.
Benefits of Multidisciplinary Teamworking
Multidisciplinary teamworking can:
- Minimize waste and duplication to provide more efficient service delivery
- Provide the opportunity for individuals to learn about the roles of other groups of professionals
- Allow customers to feel more confident in the service they receive as they are given the same message from different providers
- Make it easier to provide continuity of service
- Allow management protocols to be embedded more easily as they only have to be communicated and implemented once
- Improve communication and opportunities for discussion
- Allow cross fertilization of ideas to other situations and customers
- Increased sharing of knowledge
- Make resource management more efficient through shared resources
- Increase the availability of friendship and support
How to Make it Work
The principles of good teamworking also apply to multidisciplinary teams. However, the following factors are especially relevant to multidisciplinary teamworking:
- The group members must be committed to working in a multidisciplinary team and to providing the best service possible.
- As with all good teams, they must have a common purpose and a shared vision of the organization’s future. Their team roles must be clear and there must be visible support at an organizational level.
- It is important that multidisciplinary team members gain feedback on their work from others in the team in order to reflect on their practice. Team members should be encouraged to share insights with others.
- The physical environment and available resources must be sufficient to support the team. Traditional hierarchical structures can make the working of multidisciplinary teams difficult, especially where distinct departmental structures operate.
- Moving towards a multidisciplinary approach can necessitate a fundamental shift in attitudes of team members. They must learn to share their professional knowledge and listen to what others have to say. Professional boundaries become blurred, so individuals need to be willing to let others share their territory. This new way of working requires trust, tolerance and the willingness to share responsibilities.
- Defining the boundaries of the team may be difficult, especially where there is significant overlap between roles.
- It is very important to have champions to instigate this way of working. This should be someone at management level.
- Finding the time to get everyone together in one place at the same time can be a major problem. However, this is important for establishing team relationships, communication and problem solving. People must gain an awareness of the skills, knowledge, strengths and weaknesses of the others in their team.
- Multiple lines of management can create barriers to effective teamworking.
ReferencesSource: Valerie Wilson and Anne Pirrie, Multidisciplinary Teamworking Indicators of Good Practice, from the Scottish Council for Research in Education (2000).
