Interprofessional education and collaboration are essential to promoting health care utilization that results in safe, effective, quality and equitable care in an evolving health care arena in the United States. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the evolution of interprofessional education (IPE) and collaboration, and characteristics of interprofessional collaboration (IPC). Additionally, an analysis of how IPC can impact patient safety and quality of care, along with implementation facilitators, barriers and sustainability will be discussed. Finally, opportunities for utilization of IPE and IPC in an organization with DNP-prepared APRNs will be explored.
The evolution of IPE and IPC originated with the first conference of the Institute
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These characteristics consist of clinical competence, interpersonal competence and communication skills, social awareness, trust, mutual respect, and humor (Chism, 2016, p. 51-52). These characteristics can be implemented strategically to ensure desired outcomes are achieved. Clinical competence in nursing would promote intraprofessional cohesion that results in a unified professional approach to health care. Professional scope of practice must be maintained to build trust within a profession and between professions. Interpersonal competence and communication skills are essential characteristics to ensure professionalism when implementing policy changes, incorporating evidence-based practice and ensuring equitable use of health care resources. Social awareness, trust, mutual respect and humor are building blocks of effective communication skills. Being mindful of the differences between professions through social awareness builds mutual respect for professions that can result in increased trust between professions. Humor is an effective tool to decrease tension and stress, as well as build a bridge to achieve collective goals (Chism, 2016, p. …show more content…
Leadership skills developed in a DNP program equips APRNs to be a role model through articulating goals of IPE and IPC to promote patient safety, increased quality of care and decrease stigma associated with the disease of addiction (Chism, 2016). Recognizing educational deficits and facilitating increased awareness of addiction through the use of concise, fact based information tools can promote understanding of the disease of addiction, treatment modalities and risks associated with overdose after receiving treatment. The nursing profession is especially equipped to promote IPE and IPC through leadership by example because nurses have historically had increased exposure to direct patient care that leads to development of trust between health care provider and patients. These skills can be enhanced to promote IPE and IPC with other professionals by promoting policy changes to recognize the full capacity and recognition of the nursing profession within the terminal degree of a
It is obvious that a great deal of interprofessional research has been aimed to educate practitioners and nurses over the past decade for interprofessional practice (Orchard, King, Khalil & Beezina, 2012). The Institute of Medicine (IOM) “The Future of Nursing Leading Change, Advancing Health” (2010) recommend that private and public organizations, nursing programs and associations increase opportunities for nurses to lead and manage collaborative teams. Health care reform has created a shift in the healthcare delivery to place more emphasis on interprofessional health care teams (Sinfield, Donoghue, Horobi & Anderson, 2012). New implications are directed towards continuing education for health care workers to understand the meaning of interprofessional collaboration to support the changes in collaborative practice to improve patient outcomes (Orchard et.al, 2012). Encouraging health care professional to collaborate as a team more effectively may seem as the answer to improve the quality of care, but ineffective communication from team members to collaborate on the care needs often attributed to patient safety issues. Consequently, even when professional collaborative teams work together, there is no means to validate and measure the impact on continuing education for nurses about interprofessional collaborative practice (Sinfield, et al., 2012).
Using examples involving human service workers, discuss how interprofessional practice is defined. Discuss the barriers to interprofessional practice and how these might be addressed.
rofessionals from different disciplines collaborating to provide care to patients. Effectively coordinated and collaborative inter-professional teams are essential to the care and treatment of patients (Rowlands & Callen, 2013; Doyle, 2008; Ruhstaller, Roe, Thürlimann & Nicoll, 2006; Simpson & Patton, 2012, p. 300). Communication is a process of conferring information between individuals through use of speech, writing or various other means, and is critical to the success of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) (Higgs, McAllister & Sefton, 2012, p. 5; Rowlands & Callen, 2013; Sargeant, Loney & Murphy, 2008). An MDT must use multiple strategies to enhance communication and ensure their success (Doyle, 2008). An effective MDT generates opportunities that benefit healthcare, which is the reason for the recent dominance of inter-professional care in health practice (Simpson & Patton, 2012, p. 300; Rowlands & Callen, 2013). Many barriers prevent effective communication within inter-professional teams. Lack of communication within MDTs presents challenges to their success, leading to numerous consequences, including the failure of the MDT (London Deanery, 2012; Sargeant et al, 2008). Communication between professionals is the key factor underpinning the potential success or failure of inter-professional teams, the outcome of the functioning of MDTs will either benefit or impair care of patients.
Wondrak, R. (2004) Interpersonal Skills for Nurses and Health Care Professionals. Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd
Professionalism is an adherence to a set of values comprising both a formally agreed-upon code of conduct and the informal expectations of colleagues, clients and society. The key values include acting in a patient's interest, responsiveness to the health needs of society, maintaining the highest standards of excellence in the practice of medicine and in the generation and dissemination of knowledge. In addition to medical knowledge and skills, medical professionals should present psychosocial and humanistic qualities such as caring, empathy, humility and compassion, as well as social responsibility and sensitivity to people's culture and beliefs. All these qualities are expected of members of highly trained professions.
The practice of using inter-professional teams in delivering care is not a new concept but current health policy requires professionals work within a multidisciplinary team Department of Health (2001) and entrenched in the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) Code. The principle focus of this essay is to discuss the importance of inter-professional collaboration in delivering effective health care and what challenges and constraints exist. The integration of a case study will give an insight into inter-professional collaboration in practice.
The World Health Organization (2010) defines interprofessional collaboration in health care as occurring “when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds provide comprehensive services by working with patients, their families, carers and communities to deliver the highest quality of care across settings” (p. 7) and IPE as occurring “when two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes” (p. 7). Interprofessional collaboration is contingent on IPE; education promotes collaborative patient-centered care by strengthening communication skills and teamwork. This paper discusses the importance of interprofessional collaboration in healthcare by examining
“Communication is the heart of nursing… your ability to use your growing knowledge and yourself as an instrument of care and caring and compassion” (Koerner, 2010, as cited in Balzer-Riley, 2012, p. 2). The knowledge base which Koerner is referring to includes important concepts such as communication, assertiveness, responsibility and caring (Balzer-Riley, 2012). Furthermore, communication is complex. It includes communication with patients, patient families, doctors, co-workers, nurse managers and many others. Due to those concepts and the variety of people involved, barriers and issues are present. Knowing how to communicate efficiently can be difficult.
Reflecting upon interprofessional education (IPE), hands on experience is vital for health care students across the Faculty of Health Sciences so that they may continue to develop better communication skills, enhance performance and develop conflict resolution capability in a team situation. Looking back on the online “Stroke and Depression” IPE workshop that was conducted as interprofessional group work has allowed me to gain not only the knowledge about stroke and depression but also the knowledge, skills and attributes required for interprofessional (IP) collaboration practice. My IPE team consisted of one medical scientist, four speech pathologist, two psychology students and three nursing students including myself. This analytical
The processes and skills listed below are all relevant to nurses working in the contemporary hospital environment today. Interpersonal skills are the life skills we use every day to communicate and interact with people. “To effectively communicate we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding to guide our communication with others.” (Anthony Robbin). It is important for the nurse to be aware of the effects their personal values and beliefs can have on their patients.
Not only is professional communication important in the portrayal of a good nursing image and behaviour, it also plays a vital role in patient care and health outcomes. The ANMC standards serve as a good guidance on the need to establish therapeutic relationship through effective communication. As nurses spend relatively more time with patients, they play a significant role in bridging a patient and doctor. Hence, it is would help for nurses to constantly hone their communication skills through experience over time.
As an advanced practice nurse (APN), one must interact with other medical professionals cooperatively and collaboratively to ensure the best outcomes for his or her patient population. Interprofessional collaboration happens when providers, patients, families, and communities work together to produce optimal patient outcomes (Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel, 2011). This type of teamwork and cooperation ensures that all of the providers caring for a patient act in a cohesive manner in which everyone including the patient plays a role in the management of the individual’s health. The purpose of this discussion is to evaluate interprofessional practice and provide the view of a
What I find most difficult about interprofessional care is the professional hierarchy that is often in place. When physicians have a say in a patient, other members usually do not question it or try to challenge it because that physician might not agree with it or because of their level of education. When I think of team, I think of it as if everyone is equal and anyone can state what they think is right or wrong in any situation. If physicians are not approachable or open to other ideas, it may be hard to have an equal balance of power in an interprofessional team. Another difficulty or disadvantage I see to an interprofessional team is understanding everyone’s roles in the team. I am assuming that as time goes on, everyone becomes aware of what each team member does for a patient, but I could also assume that some members put other responsibilities on your plate. For example, if there is a case where a mom is suspected of child abuse and the nurse witnesses it, it would make sense for the nurse to report it because they were a witness and mandated reporter. I have talked to my supervisor at my internship and she says that nurses usually do not report to CPS because they instead let the social worker know in order for the social worker to make the report. I assume it is because nurses have a lot patients to see during their shifts and making a CPS report could take some
Collaboration is the foundation to success in any team. In the healthcare setting, interprofessional collaboration (IC) has been a significant trademark among numerous highly successful innovations. Collaboration between nurses and other healthcare providers improves the quality of care, coordination, and communication between the team leading to increased patient safety. Working in a team to achieve common goals implies open communication, respect for others, mutual trust, and honesty. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the meaning of interprofessional collaboration, its implications for practice, describe the role of IC in the provision of patient and family-centered care,
CNA outlines seven basic principles which help facilitate in collaborating with other professionals, they are: client-centred care, evidence-informed decision-making for quality care, access, epidemiology, social justice and equity, ethics, and communication. Communication is a common theme that has repeatedly surfaced in my research. What makes communication an important aspect of interprofessional collaboration? Cottrell, Mellor, and Moran (2013), mentions how part of their findings with students who have participated in interprofessional education program was how their interactions and communicating with each other became valued. With knowing each other’s skills and profession, they were able to work well as a team to obtain the best care for the patient. By sharing expertise and perspectives provide a common goal which is, improving the patient’s