ABSTRACT
This chapter explores what might be meant by effective communication in the context of healthcare teams. Effective healthcare team communication is more than the accurate transmission of information. Healthcare teams are socially constructed groups situated at the intersection of multiple institutional and professional cultures. Consequently, very powerful social forces constrain how these teams can work together. Focusing directly on the social construction of healthcare teams opens the possibility for deeper, second-order change that can be achieved through alterations in the social context. Humans are social animals situated at the intersection of multiple social institutions and relationships. Human survival literally depends on the ability to effectively form and navigate collaborative relationships. The philosopher Immanuel Kant imagined the goal of human society to be "maximum individuality within maximum community". This dialectical relationship between self and society has been called the central problem in social theory, reflecting humans' dual desires for agency and belonging.
