Leadership and Management for Nurses, 3e (Finkelman)
Chapter 12 Developing Interprofessional and Intraprofessional Teams
1) The hospital’s strategic building plan calls for the nursing unit to double in size within the next
year. How can planning for this increase best be accomplished?
1. A consultant who can gather ideas from all involved while avoiding the confrontations and
clashes that would occur if all parties gathered to plan together.
2. The nursing manager, who then can offer direct feedback to team members regarding their
active roles in the change process.
3. A well-coordinated team to represent all involved, to ensure that all difficult aspects of the
change process are considered.
4. An open forum of all staff, so that no workplace teamwork issues go unaddressed.
2) A group of nurses is known for its ability to perform well together to achieve its primary
objectives. This group of nurses is demonstrating which characteristics?
1. Teamwork
2. Shared governance
3. A working group
4. Collective individuality
3) Choose the situations that represent the qualities of a team rather than those of a group. Select
all that apply.
1. Nurse recruiters and nurse educators gather to explore and implement a program to recruit
males into the profession.
2. Three nurses, a respiratory therapist, two residents, and a nursing assistant all are fully
involved in a “code blue.”
3. Nurses at a unit meeting attempt to address and resolve interpersonal differences that they
have assessed as interfering with nursing care.
4. Nurses meet with a representative of a Master’s degree program.
5. Nurses, physicians, and paramedics from around the state attend a trauma symposium where
information about traumatic brain injury is presented.
4) A home health agency will find which benefit when its nurses perform at a high level of
teamwork?
1. The nurses will recognize clearly the leadership of their designated nurse manager.
2. Majority and minority viewpoints will be retained well.
3. Disagreements and conflicts will be less likely to arise and be aired at staff meetings.
4. Individual nurses in the agency will be confident in their role and how they contribute to the
agency’s mission.
5) The nursing unit is adopting the “self-directed work team” model. What benefits are likely to
occur because of this decision? Select all that apply.
1. Services will be focused on the patient.
2. Centralization will create cost efficiency.
3. Use of small teams of nonprofessional staff led by an RN offers cost savings.
4. Staff retention and productivity will improve.
5. Positive patient, staff, and physician satisfaction.
6) Which action, taken by the administration of a healthcare facility, would likely hinder the
success of self-directed work teams?
1. Ensuring that all members of the teams develop skills in leadership and control.
2. Encouraging the creation of specific responsibilities and boundaries for team members.
3. Creating organization-wide performance evaluation tools for management to use in uniform
fashion for all teams.
4. Providing for education in technical, interpersonal, communication, and management skills for
all team members.
7) A nurse has just been promoted to team leader for a nursing unit and wishes to experience a
smooth transition into this job. What is a common mistake made by new team leaders?
1. Being authoritarian due to lack of self-confidence, lack of trust, and fear of poor outcomes.
2. Using a “hands-off” approach due to idealism, a naive sense of trust, and lack of belief in their
own judgment.
3. Adapting a highly cooperative approach due to lack of experience and clinical skills.
4. Easily extending an openness to input and participation from team members because of their
freedom from negative experiences with this approach.
8) Which statement, if made by the team leader, would best enhance teamwork on a long-term
care nursing unit?
1. “Nursing assistants must follow directions given by the nurses at the start of the shift.”
2. “Let’s be sure to take time for fun and getting along with each other during the shift.”
3. “You have all completed your orientations. Your job now is to perform the tasks as you have
been directed.”
4. “The way the shifts work together by passing on useful information at report helps our
residents to be safe and comfortable.”
9) An effective nursing leader can foster positive followership by rewarding team members who
exhibit which behavior?
1. Respect the need to do their jobs well, and leave evaluation and change to management.
2. Place primary importance on interpersonal relationships and communication among team
members.
3. Limit attention to organizational and environmental factors in favor of completing their
assigned tasks.
4. Demonstrate individual initiative in meeting nursing care goals while being willing to
contribute to ongoing improvement of the organization.
10) The vice president of nursing for a multi-hospital organization is planning a project team.
The team will include members from nursing, medicine, and allied health who will plan the work
jointly and will carry it out collaboratively. Each member of the team will be expected to provide
the expertise of each profession. Which approach to teamwork is this administrator planning?
1. A multidisciplinary team
2. Team nursing
3. Total patient care
4. An interprofessional team
11) A nursing team has been gathered to refine documentation procedures. During its second
meeting, two members are passive, two struggle impatiently to get the task underway, and two
others are dominating and controlling communication. What should the leader do at this point?
1. Assist the members to get to know one another.
2. Encourage group communication, encouraging all members to share in this process.
3. Set rules regarding the team’s purpose, schedule, attendance, roles, tasks, and confidentiality.
4. Guarantee that consensus is reached regarding the team’s findings and recommendations.
12) A nursing leader observes conflict in the team. The leader’s response to this conflict should
be based on which principle?
1. Information and expertise from sources external to the team cause erosion of teamwork.
2. Conflict that is focused on differing personalities is acceptable as long as agreement regarding
work issues exists.
3. Total agreement on all matters is not as important as general agreement among members to
support decisions of the team.
4. Personal feelings or reactions of members regarding decisions always must be aired
immediately.
13) A team of nurses is developing a procedure for self-scheduling of staff. The leader can assess
that motivation is healthy when what occurs?
1. Members applaud the accomplishment of one step by moving on rapidly to the next step of the
task.
2. The team members are each independently following the exact directions of the leader.
3. Various members show initiative by also taking on goals related to evaluation methods, social
events, and risk prevention.
4. Members patiently wait for direction and permission in their tasks, and quickly stop their work
when informed of their mistakes.
14) A work group has completed its first task and meets to evaluate its work prior to engaging in
its next task. The leader should recognize which team member comment as requiring
restatement, redirection, or refinement?
1. “I sure was frustrated when we were just setting goals, but it was good once we got
underway.”
2. “We always get bogged down and waste time.”
3. “I got to appreciate Sally’s wild ideas more once one of her ideas got us past being stuck last
week.”
4. “We did an especially good job of writing down our recommendations clearly before posting
them.”
15) An interprofessional discharge planning team has received negative feedback from several
patients regarding lack of clarity in post-discharge instructions. Which leader statement is most
constructive for this team at this point?
1. “All members of this team need to review their own materials for accuracy, conciseness, and
thoroughness.”
2. “Perhaps some new members should be added to this group to give us some fresh ideas.”
3. “I hate to say this, but you all know that we are going to have to put in some long hours
figuring out how to get this job done correctly.”
4. “We can handle this feedback using our talents and the way we come together to tackle
challenges.”
16) What is a major difference between formal teams and informal teams?
1. Formal team members have much in common.
2. Informal teams are formed by the members.
3. Formal teams are rarely formed by the organization.
4. Informal teams are often called committees.