TY - JOUR
T1 - The Collaborative Health Care Team
T2 - The Role of Individual and Group Expertise
AU - Patel, Vimla L.
AU - Cytryn, Kayla N.
AU - Shortliffe, Edward H.
AU - Safran, Charles
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is supported in part by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (No. 410–95–1206) to Vimla L. Patel and in part by AHCPR, National Library of Medicine (No. U01HS08749) to Charles Safran. This research was presented at the Spring AMIA Congress in San Jose, California, 1997. We express our gratitude to the volunteer participants (staff and patients of the primary care unit) who gave their time to make this study possible. Critical comments by two anonymous reviewers on the previous draft of this article were invaluable. Correspondence may be sent to Vimla L. Patel, Cognitive Studies in Medicine, Centre for Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, 1110 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1A3. E-mail: patel@hebb.psych.mcgill.ca
PY - 2000
Y1 - 2000
N2 - Background: Increasing costs of health care and rapid knowledge growth have led to collaboration among health care professionals to share knowledge and skills. Purposes: To characterize the qualitative nature of team interaction and its relation to training health professionals, drawing on theoretical and analytical frameworks from the sociocognitive sciences. Methods: Activities in a primary care unit were monitored using observational field notes, hospital documents, and audio recordings of interviews and clinical interactions. Results: The demarcation of responsibilities and roles of personnel within the team became fuzzy in practice. Continuous care was provided by primary care providers and specialized care by intermittent consultants. The nature of individual expertise required was a function of the patient problem and the interaction goal. These team characteristics contributed to the reduction of unnecessary and redundant interactions. Conclusions: Distributed responsibilities allow the team to process massive amounts of patient information, reducing the cognitive load on individuals. The uniqueness of individual professional expertise as it contributes to the accomplishment of team goals is highlighted, suggesting emphasis on conceptual competence in the development of individual professional education programs. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 12(3), 117-132
AB - Background: Increasing costs of health care and rapid knowledge growth have led to collaboration among health care professionals to share knowledge and skills. Purposes: To characterize the qualitative nature of team interaction and its relation to training health professionals, drawing on theoretical and analytical frameworks from the sociocognitive sciences. Methods: Activities in a primary care unit were monitored using observational field notes, hospital documents, and audio recordings of interviews and clinical interactions. Results: The demarcation of responsibilities and roles of personnel within the team became fuzzy in practice. Continuous care was provided by primary care providers and specialized care by intermittent consultants. The nature of individual expertise required was a function of the patient problem and the interaction goal. These team characteristics contributed to the reduction of unnecessary and redundant interactions. Conclusions: Distributed responsibilities allow the team to process massive amounts of patient information, reducing the cognitive load on individuals. The uniqueness of individual professional expertise as it contributes to the accomplishment of team goals is highlighted, suggesting emphasis on conceptual competence in the development of individual professional education programs. Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 12(3), 117-132
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034208232&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0034208232&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1207/S15328015TLM1203_2
DO - 10.1207/S15328015TLM1203_2
M3 - Article
C2 - 11228898
AN - SCOPUS:0034208232
SN - 1040-1334
VL - 12
SP - 117
EP - 132
JO - Teaching and Learning in Medicine
JF - Teaching and Learning in Medicine
IS - 3
ER -