Interaction in Multidisciplinary Teams (Cardiff Papers in Qualitative Research)

William Housley examines the concepts of multi-disciplinarity and team practice in social care settings and considers how and why the two concepts have been brought together in recent years. Furthermore, he discusses the various theoretical assumptions that underpin models of multi-disciplinary teamwork. This is contrasted with interactional and ethnomethodological approaches that have examined the lived reality of work practices and social organization. The author applies these approaches to understanding multi-disciplinary team interaction and communication within social care settings through the use of conversation and membership categorization analysis. Topics covered include the negotiation and accomplishment of professional and lay role-identities, claims making and the display of knowledge in team settings, the use of narrative and stories in decision making and the local organization and accomplishment of team leadership. Furthermore, it is argued that recent developments and ideas concerning the re-engineering of team structures within health and social care settings would benefit from some consideration of observations generated from this approach to exploring multi-disciplinary team practice.