A wise physician once commented that the reason we speak of the "practice" of medicine, is because it is just that, a "practice."
Professional athletes and musicians are familiar with the concept that practice makes perfect. Successful business people have known for years that ongoing training is necessary to be able to compete in the marketplace. When Jack Welch took over as CEO of General Electric, he identified the only behavior that is acceptable in GE as that of the "A" player.

Until the last few years, health care organizations were not viewed as being in a competitive arena. But the advent of managed care, when coupled with abundant opportunities for employees to go elsewhere, has caused health care leaders to rethink objectives, both internally and externally. Patients demand an "A Team," and employees look for an "A Team" environment.

The importance of a well-trained team in the health care setting is easily apparent when observing code-blue or trauma-team activation. The drama of the moment requires people to leave their personalities on the shelf and to function as part of a well-oiled machine. Not all aspects of everyday operations are as dramatic, but the work that is being done is equally important and still requires an "A Team."

The challenge is to create an organization that nurtures "A Team" players. The starting point is to ensure that managers have the tools they need to create an environment that will attract and retain committed employees. Only with commitment will significant performance and productivity gains be achieved, and managers are key to creating that "A Team"environment.
One of the reasons team training may seem to fall short of the mark is that training is viewed as an event, rather than an as on-going process. Learning to work together and to communicate takes time as well as practice. That is why many efforts at management or leadership training fail to achieve lasting behavioral change. People don't change their behavior as a result of a two or three day training event.

Communication is vital to successful training and teamwork. The work-styles of people who are employed in health care are varied. Motivation can be different for doctors than for nurses, administrators, or support staff. Everyone wants the same outcome, but why they want it, and how they go about getting it are markedly different. And those differences don't stop with employees. Patients and their families don't come in cookie-cutter packages either.

Not only is it important to communicate with other team members, but it is also important to communicate with the patients and their families. The fact is that when communication with the patient goes awry, there's more at stake than mere dissatisfaction. The patient may not follow through with necessary medical treatment or may not understand the proposed procedure. And when delivering bad news to a patient or family member, a practitioner who communicates poorly can produce some particularly unfortunate results. What often lingers in patients' minds long after a medical visit is not what the practitioner did, however skillful, but what was said and how it was said.

We are living in an age in which advanced technology is aimed at improving the science. But the art of medicine will reach its full healing potential only if its practitioners train or "practice" in building an "A Team" and only then if they develop better team and patient communication.

Connie Brockert is a Communications Consultant with a background in health care public relations and marketing.
She is currently developing FLEX Care, a medical
practitioner/patient communication program. Phone: 913.663.1545 or e-mail: cjbrockert@aol.com

Paula Switzer is the owner of Switzer Resource Group, Inc.,
a company that provides training and consultation services to local and national organizations including health care,
finance and manufacturing. Phone: 913.268.6070 or
e-mail: www.trainingresources.com