Team Health: The Pulse of Team Management (Part 2)--Inspection

Dr. Deepa Bhide, PMP is a physician and currently an independent healthcare IT and project management consultant. She has a postgraduate degree in Pediatrics and Neonatology from the University of Health Sciences, India. Deepa is an advocate of using project management in healthcare and related domains. She has worked extensively in the confluence of clinical medicine, IT and project management domains with hands-on experience in managing projects from conception to closure.

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Drawing a parallel between clinical medicine and project management, the first part of Team Health: The Pulse of Team Management was to introduce the concept of team health and the applicability of the physical exam technique to team management.

Starting with this installment (focusing on inspection, the first of four techniques), we will now embark on this journey from "suspicion to decision." In simple terms, inspection is observing the patient in a deliberate systematic manner without making physical contact. Listed below are a few typical clinical scenarios (indicative) that will help us appreciate this journey and the importance of inspection (observing the team).

Note: I have exercised my creative liberty in using popular character names as analogies.

Scenario 1: Cinderella
The problem is known, and there is a predictable outcome (finding the cause, pinpointing the diagnosis)…

Srinivasan, a 45-year-old male patient, walked into my office complaining of fever, breathlessness and cough and chest pain that started a week ago. Upon inspection, he had rapid breathing, seemed exhausted and had retractions of his chest wall (ribs). I proceeded with the next steps of the physical examination.

The situation: The patient's symptoms are suggestive of an underlying problem that needs to be evaluated. The patient is aware of his symptoms/possible …

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