2016/07/07 - Medical Tidbits: Is it a committee or a team?

Taking a different approach this month with the medical tidbit ..

About a year ago we adopted the motto Share the Care; Work as a Team. Since that time period have read a number of different books on committees versus work groups versus teams and the question that kept coming up is why do we call things committees?

In research for this topic here are useful thoughts:

Both are collective effort. A team is a group efforts working cooperatively to accomplish a common mission. Committees serve very specific functions within organizations.

A committee is a group of people come together because of their title or role or function for a specific function or an area. They continue to work together for a specified period of time or as long as the particular purpose is served. Committees are for discussion on methods, procedures and decisions. Members of the committee may or may not have other responsibility in the organization in addition to being a member of the committee.

  • Usually administrative in nature

  • Hands-on organizationally

  • Often spend considerable time deciding if something “needs to be done.”

  • Heavy involvement in decision-making; and

  • Normally oversee and carry out programs.

  • Have strong leader

  • Individual accountability

  • Efficient meetings

  • Measure effectiveness indirectly by its influence on others

  • Discuss, decide, and delegate

A team is a group of individuals who are working together, towards a common goal or goals. There is a strong common purpose, common understanding and real alignment to which all members of the team are committed. Working Teams implement these in accordance with the decisions of the committees.

  • United around a clear and challenging common goal

  • Structured to work together and have shared leadership

  • Mutual accountability and share responsibility for their task, ultimately depending upon each other

  • Building relationships with each other

  • Empowered to implement consensus decisions

  • Encourage open-ended discussion and active problem-solving meetings

  • Measure performance directly by assessing collective work products

  • Discuss, decide, and do real work together

Attached is a link that gives additional information ..

http://likeateam.com/what-is-the-difference-between-a-committee-and-a-team/

yes this is a different spin on the monthly medical tidbits … but is something to understand as we work collectively together to help build and improve prehospital “non-scheduled” emergencies.