Transversal Skills and Competencies in SHCPs
The Power of Transversal Skills in Community-Based Interprofessional Teams: Insights for TEAMCARE
The TEAMCARE European project is committed to enhancing health and social care within community settings. A recent rapid review, "The transversal skills and competencies of health and social care professionals in community-based interprofessional teams" , emphasizes the critical role of transversal skills in fostering effective team collaboration and delivering high-quality, person-centred care.
What are Transversal Skills?
Transversal skills, also known as soft skills, are essential abilities applicable across various roles and contexts, crucial for successful collaboration in interprofessional teams. The European Skills, Competences, Qualifications, and Occupations (ESCO) Framework categorizes these into six groups:
Self-Management: Skills related to understanding personal strengths and weaknesses to effectively manage various contexts. This includes efficient work habits, a proactive and learning-oriented mindset, and self-reflection. These skills were frequently reported in the studies.
Social and Communication: Skills enabling effective interaction, including communication, empathy, conflict resolution, leadership, collaboration, and ethical conduct. This cluster was the most emphasized across the reviewed studies.
Thinking: Cognitive skills such as analyzing, synthesizing, reflecting, reasoning, evaluating information, and planning. These abilities were consistently highlighted.
Core: Fundamental skills involving language use, numeracy, and digital literacy. Within this cluster, digital proficiency was particularly noted.
Life: Skills that support managing knowledge and information to make decisions and take action in diverse life areas like health, culture, finance, science, environment, and civic engagement. Health-related applications, such as managing long-term conditions and navigating healthcare systems, were specifically identified.
Physical and Manual: Skills requiring dexterity, agility, or physical strength. No skills from this category were reported in the review.
Why are These Skills Crucial for Community-Based Interprofessional Teams (CBITs)?
The rise in long-term conditions and increasing healthcare costs in Europe necessitate strategic approaches, making the establishment of CBITs a priority. These teams aim to reduce hospitalizations, improve healthcare system sustainability, and provide comprehensive, tailored care within local communities. Effective CBITs rely on transversal skills for several reasons:
Complex Care Needs: Community settings demand professionals who can adapt and problem-solve collaboratively due to diverse patient needs and complex social factors.
Interdependence of Professionals: Transversal skills facilitate seamless collaboration among various health and social care professionals (e.g., physicians, nurses, social workers), ensuring integrated care.
Person-Centred Approach: Empathy and effective communication are vital for empowering individuals in their care decisions.
Optimizing Team Performance: Teams with strong transversal skills are more efficient, resolve conflicts constructively, and achieve better patient outcomes.
Implications for the TEAMCARE Project
The review's findings directly support TEAMCARE's goals of enhancing community-based interprofessional care. To achieve this, the project must focus on developing transversal skills among health and social care professionals by:
Integrating Skills into Training: Educational and professional development programs should explicitly include modules on communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. Most identified learning objectives emphasize "Procedural Knowledge" (knowing "how to do something") and "Conceptual Knowledge" (understanding relationships among concepts).
Promoting Interprofessional Learning: Creating opportunities for professionals from different disciplines to learn together will naturally enhance their collaborative abilities.
Developing Assessment Tools: Implementing mechanisms to assess and provide feedback on transversal skills will help professionals identify areas for growth.
Fostering a Collaborative Culture: Encouraging open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision-making within teams is essential for these skills to thrive.
By prioritizing transversal skills, the TEAMCARE project can significantly contribute to building more effective, adaptable, and patient-centred community-based interprofessional teams across Europe.
Research: Giardulli, B., Pagnucci, N., Przyłęcki, P., Koutra, K., Walsh, N., Androulakis, C., … Battista, S. (2025). The transversal skills and competencies of health and social care professionals in community-based interprofessional teams: a rapid review. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 1–14.
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