Teamwork & Communication Action Series: Wave 1 Evaluation

Positive shifts in team culture are linked to improved clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. Effective teamwork and communication in health care delivery can have an immediate and positive impact on patient safety and quality of care. These shifts also have tangible benefits for health care providers, teams and organizations by reducing work-related conflict and stress, fostering team communication to reduce harassment and bullying, and improving job satisfaction and perceptions of working conditions.

In response to this evidence as well as system demand, we launched a free, 12-week Action Series in February 2017 with the aim of improving teamwork and communication within the BC health care system. The Teamwork and Communication Action Series sought to respond to these challenges by providing an interactive educational opportunity meant to introduce the behaviours required for effective teamwork, the key elements of effective communication and common tools that support successful communication within a team.

A call to action was disseminated in late February and received an overwhelming response. Fifty teams from across the province signed up to take part in the Action Series, which consisted of four, one-hour learning webinars complemented by action period guides and activities designed to reinforce webinar learning. This report summarizes the experiences of participating teams and the evaluation results.