Patients require access to various healthcare professionals to manage their healthcare needs. Most nurses work in a team established to provide optimum care for patients. This article explores the stages necessary to develop an effective healthcare team and identifies the attributes required for effective teamwork. These include: effective leadership, a shared mental approach (a common understanding of the roles and responsibilities of all members of the team), respect among team members and shared training. Scenarios involving a rheumatology team that includes the author are used to demonstrate how effective teams can be established in practice, and the benefits of effective healthcare teams to staff well-being and patient care.