What have practitioners learned from their healthcare teams?

Some of the most impactful lessons in healthcare don’t come from textbooks—they come from the teammates practitioners work with every day. Whether it's a nurse, social worker, or a specialist, each member brings a unique perspective that can shape clinical decisions and improve patient outcomes.

We asked our community on Healthcasts to share the lessons they've learned from their healthcare teams. Their responses reveal how respect, teamwork, and listening to one another can transform both patient care and professional growth.

Read the consults below to see what your peers have learned from their teams, then log in or sign up to see the consensus and share your own. 

Question of the week

What is one lesson you have learned from working with other members of the care team?

 Consults

Key takeaways about lessons learned from healthcare teams:  

• Every role adds value
  Nurses and specialists often catch details others miss, like mood shifts or wound care tips,  proving that listening to all team members improves patient care.
  
• Respect builds better teams
  One physician learned to treat older colleagues with the same patience he’d give a parent. That shift in mindset fostered stronger, more respectful collaboration.
  
• Treat the person, not just the problem
  Team input helped providers focus on lifestyle, emotions, and personal stories—leading to more compassionate, whole-person care.

Psychiatry

"One lesson I have learned is that every member of a care team has something he/she can learn from every other member of that team, no matter the level of expertise, credentialing, years of experience, role, etc. It's important to listen to one another. Also, as we learn in training, learning is a constant process. I have learned this more and more through clinical experience. We don't have all the answers at all times."

Family Practice

"20 years ago, at the beginning of my career, I had a wonderful nurse who was 30+ years my age. She taught me plenty, but as a “youngster”, I would get frustrated at her lack of computer skills. One day, my manager took me aside and said, “What if ‘RN’ was your mother?” Wow. That statement gave me a totally different perspective, patience, and willingness to teach her at a different pace. Sad that it took that statement to give proper respect! Now, in my 50s, I still remember to treat my elders “like my mother” (Although now I am the one who can’t keep up with technology like my 20-year-old staff)."

Cardiology

"I remember a nurse pointing out subtle changes in a patient’s mood and appetite that I hadn’t focused on, and it shifted my approach from just treating labs to treating the whole person. It taught me to slow down, listen more closely, and trust the insights of the team."

Neurology

"Take into careful consideration how your recommendations affect a patient's real life - cost and ease of medications, lifestyle modifications, home situation."

Internal Medicine

"By watching others, I have become a better provider by implementing things that I have seen them have good success with and incorporating those ideas and mannerisms into my practice. Being kind and considerate, and patient with each individual patient is key. Though it may be our 20th patient of the day, it is their first appointment with us today…!"

Unspecified/Other

"Dealing a lot with washouts of wounds, I have learned to contact infectious disease, for they have guided me to help patients with Abx choices. But I have learned a lot in regards to what they choose and why they choose it."

Oncology/Hematology

"Learning one fact or something about them or their family and then discussing or asking more questions at their follow-up evaluation to better rapport."

Family Practice

"From a few sources early in my career, very simply, the notion of 'listen carefully to your patient's words, they will lead you to the diagnosis,' has in fact done so. Thank you."

Nurse Practitioner

"I take time to breathe when I feel a sense of being overwhelmed. Taking 5-10 minutes to focus inward renews my mind and spirit, giving a new drive to continue."

Oncology/Hematology

"I am working with a new team and there are 3 APRNs on the team that each have over 10 years of oncology experience. Their daily input is INVALUABLE to me. I have been learning a lot about the side effects of immunotherapy from them, as they manage most of these calls and complaints from patients."

Read all of the lessons from the care team shared by our community, or share yours, on the full post on Healthcasts.