Team communication, in teamwork, silence isn't golden, it's deadly, in fact, it's important to be able to speak up and speak out, if something's happening as you're working in a team, it could save a life. Effective communication needs to focus on these four areas, you need to completely discuss whatever is happening, you also need to be clear with the situation. In times of crisis, communication needs to be brief and also timely. When working in teams, mutual support is necessary, especially when it comes to communication. By supporting each other in communication, you can prevent errors, increase overall effectiveness, minimize strain on each individual, foster team adaptability, and build that very important trust that's needed for a team to function at its maximum capacity. Which ultimately strengthens the team when all of these are working together. So the acronym when you want to show concern is CUS, C-U-S. When communicating and in a situation where you want to express concern, it's important to be able to remember this acronym. When using this acronym, you want to say that you're concerned about a situation. And then let's say if no one brings up or stops that action say this makes me uncomfortable, whatever you're doing with in that situation, and finally stopping the line by saying this is a safety issue. So, for example, in a public health crisis, if you are concerned about your team or what is happening, you can first express express that concern, then talk about why or how this makes you or the team uncomfortable. And ultimately, whatever is happening needs to stop if it becomes a safety issue. Another way to communicate is SBAR, this is a way to provide immediate information that requires action, this is often seen in a variety of health care settings. So SBAR stands for situation, background, assessment, and recommendations. So this just situation should be concise, explaining what is happening, provide any pertinent background information and then assessment on what you found and what you think is happening, and then provide recommendations about what you want to occur. This is a great way to communicate in an inter professional team when you need to make quick decisions and explain the situation, especially if it's life threatening. There's also something called the Two challenge rule, this is an important proposition and communication tool when in a high stress situation where you may or may not have your assertion taken fully seriously. So, when an initial assertion is ignored, it is your responsibility to assertively voiced concerns at least two times to ensure they have been heard to a team. Now, we would hope that any sort of worry or concern would be taken at the first time this was challenged, but by assertively voicing this at least twice, you could ensure everyone has heard you and understands what's happening. The team member being challenged must be acknowledged, and so this is something that a team needs to discuss prior to getting to a challenging situation. If the outcome that is occurring it's still not acceptable, take a stronger course of action. And although we'd want to sell things with our team members, you may have to use a supervisor or chain of command. An example of this could be if a newer member of the team voices a concern and is not being taken seriously. It's important that other team members step in and help to support that newer team member. If that team member still is not being supported, they may need to go to the chain of command to discuss what is occurring. Communication overall is challenging, so it's important to keep in mind some of these common communication strategies for teams.
