Key points
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This question is an opportunity for you to show the range of experience you have gained, the discussions you have had with doctors and medical students, and reading that you have done around how healthcare is now delivered. The answer, of course, is ‘very important,’ and everyone will know this – to illustrate your answer and expand on it will spell success with this question.
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Example Answer
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‘It goes without saying that teamwork is completely vital to Medicine. Without teamwork it would be impossible to deliver high quality patient care. I have seen firsthand through my work experience the importance of teamwork in patient care, when doctors from different specialties would meet at MDTs to discuss patients whom they all had input for. This was especially relevant for oncology patients, but I also saw MDTs to discuss certain patients in geriatrics. In both, it was clear that only through combining their expertise could the doctors provide the best care. Of course, today healthcare is provided by a wide range of different team members – doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals. Allied health professionals include occupational therapists, nurse practitioners, and even physician associates, who are able to take on many of the jobs that previously would have been done by doctors. I spoke to one senior doctor who had a leadership role at my local hospital, and she explained that with increasing patient numbers in her trust, budgetary limits and an inability to hire more doctors, allied health professionals could soon become the backbone of her hospital’s ability to provide care. I believe that teamwork is essential to trauma and emergency care as well as care through longer term admissions, with paramedics, nurses, and doctors having to work together at high speed and under great stress. Finally, teamwork is crucial for medics – and other healthcare professionals – as they learn on the job. It is the responsibility of seniors to look out for the juniors on their team, and help them to learn the vital skills needed to care for patients and go on to take senior roles in the future. Â