For health care professionals, a strong sense of collegial community lies at the center of personal and professional well-being, resilience, and flourishing at work. It is also connected to the quality of care delivered by medical teams and the quality of caring experienced by those who receive care from those medical teams. Communication, coordination of care, complex and high demand problems and the need for psychological safety within teams impact the ways in which medical teams function, while making the extraordinary act of rendering quality medical care seem ordinary.
Drawing from the fields of sociology, psychology, organizational behavior and complexity theory while grounding the practical applications in mindfulness, this presentation explores the importance of collegial communities, how they can be cultivated and strengthened by Mindful Practice, and how mindful teams in turn impact the delivery of quality medical care. The presentation examines the social networks within the medical care environment, exploring how medical teams function in suboptimal and optimal conditions. It further explores new paradigms and opportunities that can be utilized to improve team functioning.
Drawing from 15 years of experience with Mindful Practice, the discussion additionally elucidates ways to develop the Mindful Team, leveraging qualities already present within the individuals that make up the team, as well as qualities of the collective of the team itself. These qualities include attentiveness, vigilance, tolerance of complexity and ambiguity, and critical curiosity. Finally, the presentation concludes by connecting mindfulness and teamfulness, building a model of healthcare that enhances professional flourishing and relationship-centered care.
