introduce the concept of teamwork and describes mechanisms for enhancing teamwork in the county. A team must be more than a group of people working together effectively and efficiently (see cartoon at right). The team must also be working to achieve the same goal . A county health management team can be defined as a group of technical persons with background of different professional disciplines working together to guide, oversee and coordinate health care services in a county. The team, therefore, works together to oversee the implementation of health care activities toward achieving better health for the people in the county. In order to work as an effective team, you as an individual CHT member, should master the following ten principles with the other members of the CHT: have a understanding and commitment to a common task and overall purpose; have a clear idea of your own job and how it relates to other team members’ jobs; understand the work and duties of other members, particularly where there is an overlap in functions; for example, a nurse and a clinical officer may do similar work from time to time; be flexible among yourselves so that the work of your team does not collapse when one member is absent; create a good learning and training environment in the workplace. Your team leader should encourage and stimulate this process; ensure stability and continuity of your functions by avoiding frequent changes of members, otherwise you will not sustain teamwork; build-up an efficient team by mobilizing sufficient resources to carry out the team’s functions. You also need to develop working methods and procedures which are well understood and practiced by each team member and ensure efficient use of the resources available to your county; develop good relationships within yourselves by being open, understanding and willing to help each other; develop ways of measuring and recognizing your team’s functionality, achievements and success; develop a strong sense of cohesiveness and loyalty, which will enable you to work well and tackle new problems successfully. However, this loyalty should not be at the expense of other health workers not in the CHT. The chairperson of the CHT has a key role to play in overcoming dangers of groups working in isolation by explaining and interpreting parts of the functions of the CHT to other health workers at different levels. 6.2 Building Interdisciplinary Teams Why teams? Almost all operational problems (and solutions!) involve many individuals and departments teams that are comprised of people whose actions and decisions determine: Operational Processes (How does the work get done?)
introduce the concept of teamwork and describes mechanisms for enhancing teamwork in the county. A team must be more than a group of people working together effectively and efficiently (see cartoon at right). The team must also be working to achieve the same goal . A county health management team can be defined as a group of technical persons with background of different professional disciplines working together to guide, oversee and coordinate health care services in a county. The team, therefore, works together to oversee the implementation of health care activities toward achieving better health for the people in the county. In order to work as an effective team, you as an individual CHT member, should master the following ten principles with the other members of the CHT: have a understanding and commitment to a common task and overall purpose; have a clear idea of your own job and how it relates to other team members’ jobs; understand the work and duties of other members, particularly where there is an overlap in functions; for example, a nurse and a clinical officer may do similar work from time to time; be flexible among yourselves so that the work of your team does not collapse when one member is absent; create a good learning and training environment in the workplace. Your team leader should encourage and stimulate this process; ensure stability and continuity of your functions by avoiding frequent changes of members, otherwise you will not sustain teamwork; build-up an efficient team by mobilizing sufficient resources to carry out the team’s functions. You also need to develop working methods and procedures which are well understood and practiced by each team member and ensure efficient use of the resources available to your county; develop good relationships within yourselves by being open, understanding and willing to help each other; develop ways of measuring and recognizing your team’s functionality, achievements and success; develop a strong sense of cohesiveness and loyalty, which will enable you to work well and tackle new problems successfully. However, this loyalty should not be at the expense of other health workers not in the CHT. The chairperson of the CHT has a key role to play in overcoming dangers of groups working in isolation by explaining and interpreting parts of the functions of the CHT to other health workers at different levels. 6.2 Building Interdisciplinary Teams Why teams? Almost all operational problems (and solutions!) involve many individuals and departments teams that are comprised of people whose actions and decisions determine: Operational Processes (How does the work get done?)