Team Skills and Tools

Family Conferences and Rapid Rounds

The purpose of a family conference is to provide a forum for family members and the healthcare team to discuss any issues of concern and develop a collaborative plan to address those concerns. Interprofessional team meetings, or rounds, are held to review each patient's care plan and identify what needs to be done to move the plan forward. These documents provide guidelines on running each of these types of meetings.
Author: Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC)
Interprofessional Competencies: Collaboration
Document: Family Conferences and Rapid Rounds

Feedback Guide for Student Observers

This form helps students provide feedback when observing another team's interview with a patient. It is structured around the interprofessional competencies of communication, collaboration, role clarification, and reflection. Author: Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC)
Interprofessional Competencies: Collaboration
Document: Feedback Guide for Student Observers

 

Interprofessional Patient Conference Worksheet

This worksheet helps students plan and carry out a patient conference meeting by identifying their concerns and their top three priorities in order to avoid overwhelming the patient. Students then determine how to address the priorities, and examine areas of role overlap among team members. The worksheet also asks students to plan their Team Roles to support their team process.
Author: Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC)
Interprofessional Competencies: Collaboration
Document: Interprofessional Patient Conference Worksheet

Jargon Alert! Card

The Jargon Alert flashcard is a fun and easy way to intervene when jargon is used. Students, patients, and others can show the card as a way of requesting clarification and reminding the speaker that their language isn't always universal. This card should only be used in settings where all parties are familiar with it and welcome its use.
Author: Alberta Health Services and University of Alberta as part of the Interprofessional Clinical Learning Unit (IPCLU) project
Interprofessional Competencies: Communication
Documents:
Jargon Alert! Card
User Guide

Process Analyst Guide

Teams benefit from regularly taking a step back from their daily work to analyse their processes. Use this guide at the end of a meeting where all members of the team are present. Consider the following questions and select the most relevant ones to discuss. This discussion may be led by the Process Analyst or any designated team member.
Author: Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC)
Interprofessional Competencies: Collaboration, Reflection
Document: Process Analyst Guide

Student Tip Sheets and Worksheets

These short documents were created for students working in teams to help them understand and improve how they work together as a team.
Author: Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC)
Interprofessional Competencies: Collaboration
Documents:
Balancing Task and Process
Stages of Team Development
What Good Teamwork Looks Like 

Team Charter

This worksheet helps new teams articulate their goals and expectations. It should be completed by the whole team in their first meeting, and then revisited regularly to ensure that the team is on track.
Author: Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC)
Interprofessional Competencies: Collaboration
Document: Team Charter

 

Team Functional Roles

When a team is working together, each member may take on a special role to support and improve how the team functions. In the real world these roles are rarely formally assigned, but high-functioning teams demonstrate all these roles in some way. The team roles described here are: Initiator, Recorder, Timekeeper, Energizer/Encourager, Advocate, Participant, and Process Analyst. Tent cards are provided for use during meetings.
Author: Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC)
Interprofessional Competencies: Collaboration
Documents:
Team Functional Roles
Team Roles (video) / (transcript)
Team Role Tent Cards

 

Team Meeting: Care Planning

This collection of resources provides one example of a team meeting taking place, and the type of feedback that might be given. This collection also illustrates the Team Objective Structured Clinical Exam (TOSCE) process: a scenario is given to the team of students, the students develop a care plan for the patient, and they reflect on their process. Afterwards, the facilitators provide feedback to the team. Throughout the meeting, the students represent their professions and their team functional roles.
Author: Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC)
Interprofessional Competencies: Collaboration, Reflection
Links:
Care Planning Scenario
Care Planning Meeting (video)
Facilitator Feedback (video)
Care Planning and Facilitator Feedback (video transcripts)

WAIT (Why Am I Talking?) Card

The WAIT flashcard can assist in advocating for clear communication in team settings. It reminds people to speak with purpose and to make space for others to contribute. The WAIT Card also empowers patients to alert staff when they feel overloaded with information. This card should only be used in settings where all parties are familiar with it and welcome its use.
Author: The source for the "WAIT" acronym is unknown, but is commonly used as a team communication tool in the business sector. The WAIT Card is by the Health Sciences Education and Research Commons (HSERC).
Interprofessional Competencies: Communication
Documents:
WAIT Card
User Guide