Jenny Liao

Developing Transactive Memory Systems: Theoretical Contributions From a Social Identity Perspective

Transactive memory system (TMS) theory explains how expertise is recognized and coordinated in teams. Extending current TMS research from a group information-processing perspective, our article presents a theoretical model that considers TMS development from a social identity perspective. We discuss how two features of communication (quantity and quality) important to TMS development are linked to TMS through the group identification mechanism of a shared common team identity. Informed by social identity theory, we also differentiate between intragroup and intergroup contexts and outline how, in multidisciplinary teams, professional identification and perceived equality of status among professional subgroups have a role to play in TMS development. We provide a theoretical discussion of future research directions aimed at testing and extending our model.

Measuring Multidisciplinary Team Effectiveness in a Ward-Based Healthcare Setting: Development of the Team Functioning Assessment Tool

Abstract: Nontechnical skills relating to team functioning are vital to the effective delivery of patient care and safety. In this study, we develop a reliable behavioral marker tool for assessing nontechnical skills that are critical to the success of ward‐based multidisciplinary healthcare teams. The Team Functioning Assessment Tool (TFAT) was developed and refined using a literature review, focus groups, card‐sorting exercise, field observations, and final questionnaire evaluation and refinement process. Results demonstrated that Clinical Planning, Executive Tasks, and Team Relations are important facets of effective multidisciplinary healthcare team functioning. The TFAT was also shown to yield acceptable inter‐rater agreement.

Measuring Ward‐Based Multidisciplinary Healthcare Team Functioning: A Validation Study of the Team Functioning Assessment Tool (TFAT)

&NA; The team functioning assessment tool (TFAT) has been shown to be a reliable behavioral marker tool for assessing nontechnical skills that are critical to the success of ward‐based healthcare teams. This paper aims to refine and shorten the length of the TFAT to improve usability, and establish its reliability and construct validity. Psychometric testing based on 110 multidisciplinary healthcare teams demonstrated that the TFAT is a reliable and valid tool for measuring team members’ nontechnical skills in regards to Clinical Planning, Executive Tasks, and Team Functioning. Providing support for concurrent validity, high TFAT ratings were predicted by low levels of organizational constraints and high levels of group potency. There was also partial support for the negative relationships between time pressure, leadership ambiguity, and TFAT ratings. The paper provides a discussion on the applicability of the tool for assessing multidisciplinary healthcare team functioning in the context of improving team effectiveness and patient safety for ward‐based hospital teams.

Transactive Memory System in Multidisciplinary Teams: Team and Professional Identities

Drawing on social identity theory, we aimed to investigate the role of perceived communication quality, and the interplay between team identification and professional identification, in predicting ...