Example of Barriers
The Hoxworth internal medicine-pediatric team at the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center identified several barriers to effective teamwork after conducting a Team Health Audit, including lack of staff and poorly defined roles and processes.
University of Cincinnati Barriers
After completing a Team Health Audit, the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center identified these barriers to successful team functioning:
- Understaffing.
- Undefined roles.
- Lack of nursing leadership.
- Inefficient processes.
- Burnout and low morale.
- Resistance to change
- Resistance to more work being added to the existing workload.
To overcome these barriers, the internal medicine-pediatrics team worked with a Six Sigma blackbelt from Health Alliance's Corporate Training and Development Department and initiated a 9-month team development project to:
- Hire or develop an onsite nursing leader.
- Clearly redefine team roles and responsibilities.
- Develop effective practices and team competencies.
- Provide leadership coaching for physician and nursing directors.
- Implement guidelines for how team members treat one another.
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