TEAMWORK, PROFESSIONISM AND EFFECTIVE HEALTH CARE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA
BEING PAPER DELIVERED AT THE 2 nd ANNUAL MHWUN GUEST LECTURE OF THE MEDICAL & HEALTH WORKERS’ UNION AT SHERATON HOTELS & TOWERS, ABUJA ON APRIL 11, 2013 _________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Team work has been recognised as the indispensable ingredient of success whenever and wherever people have to come together to achieve their personal goals because on their own, either they would be unable to achieve those goals at all or achieve them only sub-optimally. In the health profession where various forms of collaboration and hence interdependence are mandatorily required to achieve certain health outcomes, team work is the essential requirement for success. This statement is confirmed by research evidence. For example, the study into ‘ Teamwork in Healthcare: Promoting Effective Teamwork in Healthcare in Canada ’ by the Canadian Health Services Foundation in 2006 concluded that: ‘A healthcare system that sup