- Larry L. Mullins 1
- Benjamin H. K. Balderson 1
- Neva Sanders 1
- John M. Chaney 1
- Philip R. Whatley 2
- Department of Psychology, Oklahoma State University, 74078., Stillwater, Oklahoma
- Department of Behavior Medicine and Neuropsychology, Health South Rehabilitation Hospital, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
The current study sought to examine rehabilitation team members' (physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists) perceptions of team functioning in both outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation systems. Team members (N=106) indicated the type of team model in which they currently worked (i.e., multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary) and provided Likert-style ratings of perceived team cohesion, cooperation, equality among team members, personal satisfaction with the team, ability of the team to work as an integrated unit, team leadership, and the effectiveness of the team model. All team functioning variables significantly related to the type of team model currently utilized, with positive scores most highly associated with interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary team models. Incongruencies were present between therapists' hypothetical ratings of the type of team they believed to be most effective, type of team currently utilized in their work setting, and team models taught in undergraduate and graduate curriculum. Discussion focuses on implications for the future training of rehabilitation therapists.
- team functioning
- rehabilitation
- rehabilitation training
- interdisciplinary
- multidisciplinary
- transdisciplinary