NSG 6620 characteristics of an effective team
Describe at least three characteristics of an effective team, identify two challenges interprofessional healthcare teams face around roles, analyse one high-performing team you have belonged to, and examine how interprofessional education models build such teams.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 13, 2026
Four prompts, four criteria
The evaluation criteria mirror the four prompts almost word for word, so the structure of a strong post is fixed and any omission costs a whole criterion rather than a few marks. Three characteristics of an effective team should be stated as observable properties rather than virtues: a shared and explicit goal, clarity about who decides what, psychological safety sufficient that a junior member will speak up, closed-loop communication, and mutual performance monitoring. Each of those can be pointed at in a real team, which is what makes the third prompt answerable, because you will be asked to say whether they were present in a real team. The second prompt narrows to challenges with respect to the various roles, so answer about roles specifically: overlapping scopes that leave a task unowned, hierarchy that suppresses input from the discipline closest to the problem, differing professional vocabularies, and misaligned accountability where one discipline is measured on something another controls.
The third prompt asks for a real team you have been part of and why it succeeded or failed, and this is where the post becomes yours. Analyse it against the characteristics you named rather than describing it fondly — if the team worked, say which of your three characteristics were present and how you could tell. The fourth prompt shifts register entirely: it asks how education models created for interprofessional students may develop high-performing teams, which is a question about pre-qualification learning rather than workplace practice. The argument worth making is that shared training builds role understanding and a common vocabulary before hierarchy hardens, so graduates arrive already able to work across disciplines rather than learning it under pressure on a ward. Cite a competency framework rather than asserting the characteristics, and comment on at least two peers, since the evaluation criteria score that separately from the post itself.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01State team effectiveness characteristics as observable properties.
- 02Identify role-specific challenges in interprofessional teams.
- 03Analyse a real team against named effectiveness criteria.
- 04Explain how pre-qualification interprofessional education shapes later team performance.
- 05Support team claims with a recognised competency framework.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. NSG 6620 Week 6 DQ 2 One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01At least three characteristics of an effective team.
- 02Two challenges with interprofessional healthcare teams with respect to roles.
- 03A description of one high-performing team you have been part of, with reasons for its success or failure.
- 04An examination of how interprofessional education models may develop high-performing teams.
- 05Comments on the postings of at least two peers.
Characteristics, challenges, case, education
Three characteristics
Shared goal, decision clarity, psychological safety or closed-loop communication.
Two role-related challenges
Overlapping scope, hierarchy, vocabulary and misaligned accountability.
A real high-performing team
One team, analysed against the characteristics above.
Why it succeeded or failed
The specific presence or absence of the named characteristics.
Interprofessional education models
How shared pre-qualification training builds role understanding and shared language.
Competency frameworks and team science
Recommended databases
- Interprofessional Education Collaborative
- World Health Organization
- AHRQ
- South University Online Library
- CINAHL
Search sequence
- 1.Read the IPEC competency domains and take your characteristics from there.
- 2.Read the WHO framework for the education-to-practice argument in the fourth prompt.
- 3.Check TeamSTEPPS for observable team behaviours such as closed-loop communication.
- 4.Search the library for evidence linking team performance to patient outcomes.
- 5.Choose your real team before writing, so the characteristics can be tested against it.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.
- 01
IPEC Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice
Interprofessional Education Collaborative · 2023
The competency domains that supply observable team characteristics and the education argument.
- 02
Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice
World Health Organization · 2010
The evidence that interprofessional education produces collaboration-ready practitioners.
- 03
TeamSTEPPS 3.0
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality · 2024
Named, observable team behaviours and their link to safety outcomes.
- 04
Patient Safety and Quality Improvement
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality · 2025
Evidence connecting team performance to patient quality and safety.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Listing team characteristics as virtues that cannot be observed or checked.
- Answering the challenges prompt generally instead of about roles.
- Describing a past team without analysing it against the characteristics named.
- Treating the education prompt as a repeat of the workplace discussion.
- Giving two characteristics when at least three are required.
- Omitting the two peer comments, which the criteria score.
Submission checklist
- At least three characteristics are named and are observable.
- Exactly two role-related challenges are identified.
- The real team is analysed against the stated characteristics.
- The education answer is about pre-qualification learning.
- A competency framework is cited.
- Comments on at least two peers are posted.
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Written by
Aaron Bishop
MA, Education
assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines
Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.
Reviewed by
Dr. Nathan Cole
PhD, Rhetoric & Composition
Argumentation and thesis development
Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.