How to work well in a group

[Tawantinsuyu]

Considering medicine is a "team sport", what are some ways to work well efficiently on a team?
I am in a group project based class right now, and our grades on assignments haven't been so great. I was looking at our last document submission, and I noticed that some of my group members wrote some really terrible answers for the part assigned to them. We didn't really review each other's answers, that would take way too long. What are some tips for addressing this? I feel like I wrote pretty high quality answers, while some group members obviously didn't really care.

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[Tawantinsuyu]

I don't want to use my time going through all of my group member's responses, reviewing them and suggesting edits. They won't do the same.

 

[Dr. Retractor]

In your situation, I would go to the prof/whoever is in charge and tell them the situation. Before that though, discuss your thoughts with others in the group who are putting in effort and if they agree with you, all of you should go to the prof. The prof will probably help you out, but if you get a "deal with it" response then I would suggest just doing the work yourself. I've been in that situation a few times and you need to do something about it. Otherwise your grade will suffer even though you're putting in the effort.

 

[chocolatethunder]

Don't go to the professor and jeopardize the grades of your class mates. You don't know if they're being lazy. They might be busy with other life responsibilities or simply unable to perform at the same level as you.

Instead find a way to help them out. If you feel like the answers are inadequate and you have the ability to assist them, offer your help.

The whole "they won't do the same" argument is a pretty f***ed up way of looking at this situation. More likely than not they'll appreciate the help and will help you somewhere else in the future.

 

[Tawantinsuyu]

Don't go to the professor and jeopardize the grades of your class mates. You don't know if they're being lazy. They might be busy with other life responsibilities or simply unable to perform at the same level as you.

Instead find a way to help them out. If you feel like the answers are inadequate and you have the ability to assist them, offer your help.

The whole "they won't do the same" argument is a pretty f***ed up way of looking at this situation. More likely than not they'll appreciate the help and will help you somewhere else in the future.

Or I'll just end up carrying their weight through the class, forcing my other grades to suffer.

 

[chocolatethunder]

Or I'll just end up carrying their weight through the class, forcing my other grades to suffer.

This is a forum where we share our perspectives. Most of the time, we give answers based on situations that strongly resemble yours. At the end of the day, It's up to you to do whatever you want to do.

 

[Tawantinsuyu]

This is a forum where we share our perspectives. Most of the time, we give answers based on situations that strongly resemble yours. At the end of the day, It's up to you to do whatever you want to do.

Just predicting what may happen based on what you said

 

[chocolatethunder]

Just predicting what may happen based on what you said

If you're interested in my scenario.

I was working on a large group paper for one of my science courses for the major. The paper was 15-25 pages long, and was a significant part of our overall grade. We subdivided the paper into four parts and were allowed to submit an early draft a couple weeks before the final. My part did not have many corrections but based on the professor's notes, some of the group mates needed to significantly improve their work.

Even aside from the whole "percentage of my grade" aspect, I helped because it was simply the right thing to do. You should help because you can, not because you expect something in return.

Good luck with the project, and I hope everything works out well with your group mates.

 

[Tawantinsuyu]

If you're interested in my scenario.

I was working on a large group paper for one of my science courses for the major. The paper was 15-25 pages long, and was a significant part of our overall grade. We subdivided the paper into four parts and were allowed to submit an early draft a couple weeks before the final. My part did not have many corrections but based on the professor's notes, some of the group mates needed to significantly improve their work.

Even aside from the whole "percentage of my grade" aspect, I helped because it was simply the right thing to do. You should help because you can, not because you expect something in return.

Good luck with the project, and I hope everything works out well with your group mates.

Thanks. But our professor didn't assign us parts to do, we kind of just did that because it was easiest. I just feel like it would take too long to review everyone else's work, especially since we each put in a lot. I agree it's the right thing to do, but the sections weren't assigned to each member, rather, we divided it up ourselves. What I'm saying is I don't want to just review everyone else's work and nobody else put in reviews of their own, because then, if I make a lot of edits, the project is basically mostly my own work, and my group mates wouldn't have to do as much.


Also, it doesn't feel right going behind my team member's backs and changing their answers so that they seem more correct in my eyes. I want us all to come to an agreement on it.

 

[blackroses]

Thanks. But our professor didn't assign us parts to do, we kind of just did that because it was easiest. I just feel like it would take too long to review everyone else's work, especially since we each put in a lot. I agree it's the right thing to do, but the sections weren't assigned to each member, rather, we divided it up ourselves. What I'm saying is I don't want to just review everyone else's work and nobody else put in reviews of their own, because then, if I make a lot of edits, the project is basically mostly my own work, and my group mates wouldn't have to do as much.


Also, it doesn't feel right going behind my team member's backs and changing their answers so that they seem more correct in my eyes. I want us all to come to an agreement on it.

Why would you have to go behind their backs? Agree that everyone will read over the project and suggest edits as they see fit. If no one other than you does it, oh well. It seems like your biggest problem with the suggestion to just edit the projects is your sense of "fairness" that everyone should put in a perfectly equal amount of work. Unfortunately, that rarely happens in the real world. It would be a shame to let that stand between you and a good grade.

 

[Snakes]

Thanks. But our professor didn't assign us parts to do, we kind of just did that because it was easiest. I just feel like it would take too long to review everyone else's work, especially since we each put in a lot. I agree it's the right thing to do, but the sections weren't assigned to each member, rather, we divided it up ourselves. What I'm saying is I don't want to just review everyone else's work and nobody else put in reviews of their own, because then, if I make a lot of edits, the project is basically mostly my own work, and my group mates wouldn't have to do as much.

So, as in everything, there's a saying and a meme for this.

That said, working on group projects together doesn't mean everyone does one part and you throw it all together. If you're doing a group project you should plan a meeting or two before it's due where you all edit each other's portion of the paper and have a discussion about changes. That way nothing is done "behind anybody's back" and you don't go the social suicide route of going to your professor to complain about your fellow students.

I was looking at our last document submission, and I noticed that some of my group members wrote some really terrible answers for the part assigned to them. We didn't really review each other's answers, that would take way too long

I would posit that reviewing each other's answers is actually part of your group project. Not saying this part of review and rewrite doesn't suck. But it's part of group projects after post grad education too.

 

[EMDO2018]

Considering medicine is a "team sport", what are some ways to work well efficiently on a team?
I am in a group project based class right now, and our grades on assignments haven't been so great. I was looking at our last document submission, and I noticed that some of my group members wrote some really terrible answers for the part assigned to them. We didn't really review each other's answers, that would take way too long. What are some tips for addressing this? I feel like I wrote pretty high quality answers, while some group members obviously didn't really care.

Don't be that guy who treat everyone else like they are dumber than you.

 

[sunflower18]

This is a really good opportunity for you, though it may be frustrating now! But medicine is all about teamwork, so figuring out how to work in this type of setting is great practice. I agree with other suggestions -- offering to provide constructive criticism/edits/feedback on your team members' work is an excellent idea, as you will be helping to teach them to improve their quality, and the work will get done to a standard that you approve of. I definitely don't think that going back and changing their answers without telling them is the right thing to do. Sure, it might take more time to go through rounds of editing and feedback, but it's the right thing to do -- both for helping them and for creating a good final product.

Of note, many of my interviewers have asked me about experiences in group projects, and how I resolved conflicts that arose. Sounds like you'll have a good answer for this question if you figure out the best way to handle this situation!

 

[beethousand]

Just saw this article posted recently. Thought you might find it relevant. http://primarycareprogress.org/blogs/16/425

 

[TheLionheart]

Part of being a 'team player' is a willingness to put the team on your back when necessary. If you have to spend a little extra time cleaning up their work, then so be it. In all likelihood, this will not be the last time team members will disappoint you/be ineffective.

 

[Kochanie]

Oh I feel for you, thankfully, I'm probably the slacker in most my groups and my members are more than willing to fix my errors lolololol.