Teamwork!

Nursing School has taught me a lot about the importance of teamwork and collaboration. I’ve learned the importance of my little nursing cohort working together in order to survive these last few weeks of class as well as the next two and a half years of nursing school. These classmates are the people that I spend every day with, the people that I rely on for help and come to for advice. We are collectively working toward the common goal- the successful completion of nursing school. Just as we work side by side with our peers on a daily basis and strive to attain a common goal, the same concept is visible in the hospital environment. Different healthcare disciplines communicate and work together to achieve the optimal level of care for each patient in order to see the patient’s level of health improve. This quality of care is achieved through effective teamwork and good communication between disciplinary teams. This communication is the basis of patient safety in complex situations and is important in setting and completing priorities as well as reducing the number of errors that occur in the patient care setting. It would be extremely difficult take care of one patient without any outside assistance, let alone five patients for a full twelve-hour shift. For this very reason there are different teams to focus on different aspects of a patient’s health, because nurses cannot do everything themselves. This is a key concept to keep in mind while caring for patients, I cannot do it all myself and that it is perfectly okay to ask for help whenever needed. As a RN I can be sure to include and involve all appropriate healthcare personal in the care of my patients. Although this may not necessarily be as easily done as it is said, it is very crucial in providing effective care and improving a patient’s health and wellness. In doing so I will hopefully be able to ensure safety and quality for all my patients. It is important to me that my patients receive the best care that they possibly can because if I were the patient I too would hope that my nurse would do whatever necessary to help improve my level of health and quality of life.