Team Building Ideas by Trade
Team Building Games for Healthcare Workers
Team building is important in any profession, but especially so in medicine! Having a well-oiled crew of healthcare professionals is important, especially in patient-facing environments. If you’re looking to plan a team building event for your healthcare staff, but don’t know what games to play, we’re here to give you a few ideas. Here’s our favorite team building games for healthcare workers.
19 Great Team Building Games for Healthcare Workers
Dodge the Disease
Two teams face each other from 10-20 feet apart. Each team member dons a surgical mask, gloves, and white or clear rain parka. Each player is given a bowl of sponges soaked with red tempera paint or another nonpermanent dye. Once given the signal to begin, players are to throw the dyed sponges one after the other at the member opposite them, aiming only for the upper body or other non-injurious areas. Once time is up, the one who dodged the most “diseases”, as evidenced by less stains on their coats, wins.
Blood Bank Challenge
Each player is given a novelty IV bag filled with red juice or Koolaid. Players must drink as quickly as they can from the IV bag and the first to finish wins the challenge. This challenge is a fun, quick, and easy way to warm your team up for the day’s activities, especially when following an icebreaker game!
Race to Radiology
This is a timed race on wheelchairs (or gurneys) with teams of two (although if doing the gurney method, the teams may be bigger). This game can be a standard race with the goal of seeing who crosses the finish line first, or you can add in a few challenges your employees might face in real life (changing gowns or dressing during the race or turning off “call light” puck lights on the way). This game is a great way to get your team’s blood pumping for an exciting company outing!
It’s Med-o-Clock!
For this game, each player will be given a bowl full of multicolored candies (M&Ms, Skittles, and jelly beans all work well) and a multicolored pill planner. The players will have to sort the “medicine” by corresponding colors into the pill planner before the timer runs out. Whoever fills their medicine dispenser up first wins. This game is a good passive engagement activity, which you can read up on in our passive vs. active engagement article.
Gauze Wrap Two Legged Race
In this game, team members are bound together with gauze bandages and made to race together towards the finish line. This two-legged race is a classic picnic game but still pertinent to your team’s profession, which we find makes team building games even more enjoyable.
PPE Wear Obstacle Course
In this game, players utilize their OR Room PPE gear and face off in an obstacle race. The first step is safety first, place PPE gear on as fast as you can then race through the obstacle course. As hilarious as it is invigorating, this game is sure to be a hit with your staff!
Bandage Wrap
In this game, players use crepe paper bandages to wrap their teammate up like a mummy. No skin or clothing should be showing! This game is well-suited for healthcare workers; after all, who else would know better how to apply the perfect bandages?
Dress the Wound Challenge
In this game, players are given a flash card showing what their “patient’s” injury is and where it’s located. On a timer, they must bandage the wound with no mistakes. This is a challenge that can have multiple rounds to prolong the fun while being educational! This challenge is also a great way to warm up your guests and break the ice at the beginning of your team building day.
Discharge the Patient
In this game, players must race their “patient” in a wheelchair to gather the stamps needed for their discharge. Stopping at tables along the way, their patient’s card is stamped. Whoever gets past the yellow hospital line first wins!
Fill (or Empty) the IV Bag
In this game, players must either fill or empty a prop IV bag in a certain length of time. This is a great way to exercise your skill as well as have fun while doing it and serves as a fun cooldown or warmup activity for a group of any size.
Glove Pop Relay Race
This game is played by teams rushing to pop gloves inflated with air. Once one person’s glove pops (be it by hand, foot, or anything else they can figure out), they tag in the next person to do the same. This game is a spin on the classic Balloon Pop and serves as a great field game.
Surgical Count
In this game, your players must use their forceps to gather wet rags into a bucket, a bit like the “surgical count” for rags in the OR. Whoever fills their bucket first and gives an accurate count wins the game.
Musical Chairs to a Heartbeat
This game is standard musical chairs, played with the sound of a heartbeat, turned on and off to dictate sitting or moving. Increase heart rate to instantly add excitement!
Giant Operation
We have a life-sized version of Operation in our repertoire, and it’s perfect for any healthcare company outing! Put your skills to the test in this gigantic version of everyone’s favorite tabletop game. This is a laidback game that is perfect to play when resting between rounds of field game competitions.
Wrist Splint Egg Race
In this game, players are challenged to race with an egg balanced on a spoon while their wrist is in a splint. Players must try their best not to break the egg and make it across the finish line first. This serves as the perfect healthcare-oriented field game for any sized group.
Bed Linens Relay
Teams compete to see who can set up a hospital bed first. Each team will be given a laundry basket full of the bed supplies and assigned a table or another similar item to serve as the hospital bed. When the relay begins, a member of the team carried the basket and linens to the bed. There, they make the bed, then run to tag another person who removes the bedsheets. The turns go on until each player has had a chance to play, and whichever team completes their rounds the fastest wins the game.
Syringe Fill Race
In this game, players must use a 60cc syringe (with no needle of course!) to fill a cup stationed feet away with water. Players must try to get the syringe to work like a water gun and are given a bucket full of water to complete the task. Whoever fills their cup first wins the race!
Boot Race
In this game, both segments are timed. Teams are divided into two, one to apply the medical boot, and one to run with the cast towards the finish line. The player wearing the boot can be given crutches to make it a bit more of a challenge. Whichever team finishes the race first wins!
Candy Catch
For this game, you can use mini marshmallows, jelly beans, or any other small, medicine-shaped candy. One player (the “patient”) must sit in a chair 6’ to 8’ away from the other player (the “nurse”). The nurse must try to administer the patient’s medication by tossing it into their mouth. Each nurse is given 3 items of candy, and therefore only three attempts, but the patient can do their best to direct their mouth towards the candy. The team who gets the most medicine in their patient wins the game!
Team Building for Healthcare Workers
Love these team building activities, but don’t know where to start planning your next team building day? We’re here for you. We have been the nations team building service providers for 35 years. Contact us directly at 1.800.316.6722 or fill out the form directly to get started.
PLAN YOUR PERFECT PICNIC