Introduction
Group dynamics are different behaviors, reactions, and relationships within a group of individuals. It influences how people work together, make decisions and solve problems. The latter can be rather effective in helping the target audience understand how small changes in a group’s processes—such as leadership or conflict resolution—can produce tremendous results. As individuals and as groups, we are influenced by social relationships.
With the aid of such interactions, one can create either synergy or obstacles in accomplishing tasks. The following sections will provide an overview of the dynamics of groups and will assist in effectively performing as a team member and understanding team roles (Forsyth, 2018). This paper explores the nature of groups, events, and perceptions that affect group dynamics, the skills and styles involved in leading and managing groups, and the importance of group dynamics by using the Rolfe Reflective Model.
What?
Group dynamics could be the fundamental aspect of any group. It portrays a clear view of which group members interact and how those connections can either enhance or limit the achievements of a group and its members (Bion, 2018). The exchange between the group members can be positive or negative, but whichever kind they are, they can affect the outcome of the group work.
Healthcare professionals are required to engage in reflective practice. In order to maintain their professional development and expand their professional knowledge, physicians and other clinicians must do reflection. As a result, self-reflection abilities are crucial in today’s healthcare and are receiving more and more attention. To be successful and effective, groups need to manage their dynamics. This can help the group members to stay focused on their goals, reach decisions more quickly and effectively, reduce conflict, and improve their performance.
The dynamics of our group were determined by both the events and their interpretations. For example, the healthcare crisis of 2020 affected the mental health of our group members and it influenced the group dynamics by having some communication issues. A group situation can be affected by events and perceptions either positively or negatively, and with the case of the pandemic, it had a negative impact. The emotional dynamics of groups are a matter of considerable theoretical interest. Still, there has been little systematic investigation into how feelings and events affect the emotional tone of groups (Garcia and Kao-Kniffin, 2018). We were able to address this issue by reporting a series of experiments that manipulated negative or positive events within small groups. Findings indicate that negative social events intensify group members’ existing moods and thus impact group members’ moods more than positive social events.
So What?
The application of group dynamics to the planning and implementing of goals, strategies, and methods helps handle conflicts within and between individuals, teams, organizations, and communities. It is crucial to examine how various factors such as culture, personality types, group norms, and group size influence behavior (Gençer, 2019). Moreover, it allows professionals to look at their personal preferences in negotiating with others and developing mutually satisfying partnerships within work teams or projects. The implementation of the concept of group dynamics can provide a better perspective on the work environment of healthcare professionals. Keeping the group dynamics is critical in the time of the pandemic.
Group dynamics helped to define the behavior and process of grouping during the healthcare crisis. Group dynamics allows an organization to achieve its goals by appropriately matching people’s strengths and weaknesses to the task’s requirements (Vosburg, 2017). During the pandemic, it was crucial to match people according to their skills, as some professionals were more sensitive than others. It was also seen that a group could have a positive or negative goal orientation, depending on whether it focuses on satisfying internal needs or external requirements.
In a stressful time, some people wanted to satisfy the needs of caregivers while other healthcare workers were dealing with the patients directly. The degree of specification of a goal determines how well a group will be able to achieve its objectives, and this aspect of group dynamics helped our group to maintain its work.
In group dynamics, some processes happen in a group of people as they interact, influence each other, and make decisions together. These processes are considered in two ways: first, how groups develop over time; second, how groups make decisions (Covington et al., 2019). The most important thing to remember about group dynamics is that they are unique to every group; in other words, there is no one right way to work with some specific team or conduct meetings. Understanding the group’s dynamics will help one make better decisions about managing its members.
What Now?
The importance of teamwork and clear guidelines for practice are crucial for ensuring that evidence-based care is being delivered. In addition, there are various settings in which nurses are involved in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of common health conditions. For example, community nurses work within the community to promote good health, provide immunizations, and offer advice about health issues (Wakefield et al., 2019). Teamwork and clear guidelines for practice are crucial to ensure care delivery. In the time of COVID-19, it is extremely important for nurses to be team player and maintain communication with other professionals to provide better care.
This section clearly emphasizes teamwork and recognizes it as essential in ensuring quality care and effective patient outcomes. Nurses depend on other allied health professionals and their managers to provide optimum patient care. Working as a team is now more critical than ever in modern healthcare since it motivates nurses to provide optimum care (Levi and Askay, 2020). It can be safe to say that quality care depends on successful teamwork, whether from nurses, doctors, or hospital staff. Nurses should be encouraged to work collaboratively as effective teamwork is crucial to delivering quality care.
It is necessary to ensure that all adult nurses are involved in decision-making. The team members must understand the importance of teamwork, communication, and collaboration. They should be given ample information to support them in their practice, enabling them to make decisions based on their knowledge and experience (Theobald et al., 2017). Our experience shows that teamwork promotes understanding others’ perspectives and allows individuals to seek help when struggling with a task or situation (Hodge, Beauchamp and Fletcher, 2018). It also promotes shared knowledge among nursing staff, ensuring that everyone is aware of the latest policy or procedure changes and changes regarding patients as they progress through their care pathway.
Conclusion
To conclude, group dynamics are different behaviors, reactions, and relationships within a group of people. The significance of teamwork and clear instructions for practice are crucial for ensuring that high-quality, evidence-based care is being delivered. There is a reputation for team-building in practice in adult nursing. Group dynamics is vital since it helps group members interact and relate to each other. Some processes happen in a clutch of people as they interact and make decisions together in group dynamics. The processes involved in group dynamics help the group members create awareness, work as a team, and conduct meetings. The team members must understand the importance of teamwork, communication, and collaboration.
Reference List
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Covington, K. R. et al. (2019) ‘Effect of group dynamics–based exercise versus personal training in breast cancer survivors’, Oncology Nursing Forum, 46(2), 185-198.
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Hodge, K,, Beauchamp, M. and Fletcher, D. (2018) Group and team dynamics. In Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology (pp. 341-363). Routledge.
Levi, D. and Askay, D. A. (2020) Group dynamics for teams. Sage Publications.
Theobald, E. J., et al. (2017) ‘Student perception of group dynamics predict individual performance: comfort and equity matter’, PloS One, 12(7), e0181336.
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