The paradoxes of teamwork at a pediatric intensive unit: Exploring the psychosocial joints in health care

Abstract

The paper focus on teamwork and was carried out at a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in a city of the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two lines of analysis were adopted: the organization of care and the cooperation of professionals; the different meanings of care pursued by the teams and the directions for building a common care project. The theoretical approach considered intersubjective nature of teamwork and dialogue with different psychosocial literature. The field work was conducted from September to December 2011, including participant observation and interviews with 24 professionals. The rationalization of practice was associated with subjetive contribution of the professionals, wich was expressed as zeal, mutual trust and support by mechanisms of collective mediation. The contrasting images between excellence and precariousness indicate unfavorable conditions for sustaining common values and beliefs.