Synchronous work: myth or reality? A critical study of teams in health and medical care.
OBJECTIVE
In this article, ideal conceptions about teamwork are tested. The research question posed is: How are teams in psychiatry formed? Three theoretical concepts that distinguish groups from teams are presented: sequentiality, parallelism and synchronicity. The presumption is that groups cooperate sequentially and teams synchronously, while the parallel work mode is a transitional form between group and team.


METHODS
Three psychiatric outpatient teams at a university hospital specialist clinic were studied. Data were collected through 25 personal interviews and 82 hours of observations. The data collection was carried out over 18 months (2008-2009).


RESULTS
Results show: (1) that the three theoretical distinctions between group and team need to be supplemented with two intermediate forms, semiparallel and semisynchronous teamwork; and (2) that teamwork is not characterized by striving towards a synchronous ideal but instead is marked by an adaptive interaction between sequential, parallel and synchronous working modes.


CONCLUSIONS
The article points to a new intermediate stage between group and team. This intermediate stage is called semiparallel teamwork. The study shows that practical teamwork is not characterized by a synchronous ideal, but rather is about how to adaptively find acceptable solutions to a series of practical problems. The study emphasizes the importance of the team varying between different working modes, so-called semisystematics.
Berlin
Johan M
JM
University West, Department of Social and Behavioural Studies, Trollhättan, Sweden. johan.berlin@hv.se
D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D019370:Observation; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*