Knowing Oneself: The First Step to Be an Effective Member of an Interprofessional Team

Interprofessional health care teams begin with team members who know themselves and are flexible, trusting, and competent to speak up to prevent harm and take action to ensure quality and safety. Often, the soft skills necessary for team members to be effective are underrated and missing in team trainings. By clarifying the expectations of team members and using tools to assess individual ability, educators can enhance awareness and improve both individual and team civility and performance. This article is the third in a series on inter-professional teams and focuses on the importance of knowing oneself to be an effective team member.