Developing teambuilding and leadership skills using problem solving activities. Costello J 1 Cooke M 1.Wong A, & Chen MA 2.(SIT), De Silva V 2.Faculty support (SIT), Lee I, 2 Faculty support. 1 University of Manchester, UK, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work. 2 Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), Singapore.
The students
An introduction to palliative and supportive care: exploring death and dying Dr John Costello
Background
Teamwork and care provision in hospitals throughout the world is influenced by effective teamworking (Chang et al 2009).However, there is limited evidence of teamworking and leadership skills being taught using activity based approaches in undergraduate curricula. Evidence suggests that teambuilding skills can lead to greater job satisfaction and improved communication in hospital nursing staff (Amos et al 2005, Ratta & Della 2015).The need to educate nurses and to develop teambuilding skills prior to their engagement in clinical activity is an important challenge for nurse educators (Kalisch et al 2015).
AIM To develop teambuilding and leadership skills using 6 structured problem solving activities conducted outside the classroom.
The module
The module featured lectures and seminars on team work, leadership and change management. Day three was organised as an outdoor activity day which involved 6 groups of students (10 per group) undertaking 6 problem solving activities led by a leader nominated by the group.
The activity day involved sixty nursing students on the B.Sc (hons), nursing practice degree programme in Singapore who were undertaking their 2 nd year Leading and Managing Change module.
Briefing Each group were briefed before the activity began and informed of the aims and objectives, as well as the use of resources made available to them for the task. They were given 10 mins to discuss and 20 minutes to complete each activity. The group then moved on to the next activity.
Activities Activities included a casualty evacuation, managing an infection outbreak, and organising care on a stroke unit. Two activities were nurse education based board games.
Assessment
Each activity was coordinated and assessed by a faculty member who briefed, observed and debriefed each group, providing constructive feedback using a scoring card. Marks were awarded for successfully completing the task, demonstration of teambuilding skills, displaying leadership qualities, group cohesion, effective communication and group sensitivity. Adherence to time and safe and successful completion of the task were included in the overall group assessment.
Student evaluations were very positive, feedback used adjectives such as stimulating, enjoyable, rewarding, fun and valuable for staff and students. Retrospective seminar group discussions indicated evidence of integration of team building theory and practice. Leadership issues were discussed and linked to theory lectures and seminars. Assessment pass rates for the module were higher than previous years when no activities occurred.
Educational implications The so what question?
The benefits of team building activity. The teacher s perspective Integration of theory and practice and enhanced student engagement in education using innovative educational approaches to teaching and learning. Activity and problem solving stimulates learning, increases knowledge retention and improves group cohesion and communication. Raises awareness and knowledge of the impact of teamwork on group cohesion.
The need for teambuilding Team building helps student s develop interpersonal skills involving tolerance, empathy, understanding, active listening and forgiveness. Leadership is a key issue and being the leader of a group involves responsibility. Supporting the leader also involves obligations and responsibility.
Student benefits Students loved it, it was FUN (well the majority had fun)! It was preferred to lecture based teaching. The students enjoyed working in groups. They were actively engaged in teaching and learning. There was a sense of achievement and a prize at the end for the fastest team
Take home message The educational preparation of nurses needs to consider their future role as team members and leaders. Singapore nursing raises a number of challenges for educators. First, it is different from the UK and other countries. The key issue to focus upon is not just information giving but development of human skills.
Thank you for listening Any questions, comments or observations to share? John Costello e mail John.Costello @manchester.ac.uk
References Amos M.A., Hue J. & Herrick C.A. (2005) Impact of team building on communication and job satisfaction of nursing staff. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development. 21,1,10-16 Chang, W.Y., Ma JC., Chiu, H.T. Lin, K.C. & Lee P.H. (2009) Job satisfaction and perceptions of quality of patient care, collaboration and teamwork in acute care hospitals Journal of Advanced Nursing 65, 9, 1946 1955. Kalisch BJ. Aebersold M., Mclaughlin M., Tschannen D & Lane S. (2015) An intervention to improve nursing teamwork using virtual simulation Western Journal of Nursing research 37,2,164-179. Ratta, CB. Della MS. (2015) Flipping the Classroom With Team-Based Learning in Undergraduate Nursing Education. Nurse Educator 40,(2) 71-74.