Interprofessional Collaboration in Healthcare
Today’s complex health care system requires that patient care be delivered by healthcare providers from multiple disciplines since it is evident that no single profession has all of the resources that are needed to address all of a patient’s holistic needs (Weller, Boyd, & Cumin, 2014). As a result, collaboration and effective communication are becoming an increasingly paramount subject that affects patient safety and have the potential to create improved patient outcomes and prevent inadvertent patient harm. Therefore, it is essential that healthcare professionals work together through teamwork and interprofessional collaboration in order to collectively deliver safe, and high quality patient-centered
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care. Although teamwork and interprofessional collaboration are very similar and essential for patient safety, they are not precisely the same. Teamwork is defined as “a distinguishable set of two or more people who interact dynamically, interdependently and adaptively toward a common and valued goal, objective or mission, and who have each been assigned specific roles or functions to perform” (Meier, 2014, pp.149).
On the other hand, interprofessional collaboration is “when providers with different knowledge and skills interact to synergistically and constructively influence patient care”, and involves “direct and open communication, respect for different perspectives, and mutual responsibility for problem solving” (Lancaster, Kolakowsky-Hayner, Kovacich, & Greer-Williams, 2015, pp. 275).
As previously stated, in our modern and complex healthcare environment, one has to collaborate with other health care professionals in order to genuinely help patients reach their optimal level of health. In the cardiac telemetry unit, a great majority of patients are seen by health care professionals of different specialties such as dietitians, physical therapists (PT), occupational therapists (OT), respiratory therapists (RT), nurses, physicians, certified nursing assistants (CNA), social workers, pharmacists, and health educators. An example of a situation where teamwork and interprofessional
collaboration came together to create interprofessional teamwork in the cardiac floor was when one of our patients went into cardiac arrest. When this event arose, we were able to take action thanks to the cardiac telemetry monitor technician who promptly called a code, and impelled us to intervene. Usually, when a code is called, several health care professionals rush into the room and promptly start working as a team. This case was no exception, and interprofessional collaboration started to develop once members of different disciplines such as nurses, nursing students, CNAs, RTs and the physician started to arrive and began to interact and adapt their discipline specific objectives to ultimately bring the patient back to life. For example, in this situation, some nurses started taking turns with doing chest compressions, others brought the defibrillator cart into the patient’s room, a CNA checked the patient’s blood sugar level, and other nurses administered medication’s like epinephrine, amiodarone, or lidocaine which were being ordered by the physician. The RT and physician also collaborated and coordinating the process of intubation and artificial oxygenation by assessing the patient’s clinical condition and by seeking the appropriate team member’s professional input. The patient was ultimately stabilized and brought back to life thanks to the “participatory, collaborative and coordinated approach to shared decision-making” which was only possible through effective interprofessional teamwork (Körner, Wirtz, Bengel, & Göritz, 2015, p.2).
Interprofessional teams in health care are considered to be one of the best approaches to improve patient outcomes. Interprofessional teams provide the means to integrate patient care with input from many different professional disciplines (Rose, 2011). Nurses are an important part of the interprofessional team, since they are often the team member that is closest to the patient (Miers & Pollard, 2009). I recently participated in a team that developed a work flow for daily readmission rounds. The team was interprofessional, the hospitalist, who was an APRN led the team. There was the case manager and the primary nurse who were both RN’s. The team also consisted of a resident, pharmacist, nutritionist, physical therapist, and social worker.
The interprofessional team model is a group comprised of various healthcare disciplines working together towards common goals to meet the needs of the patient population. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines interprofessional collaboration in healthcare as occurring “when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds provide comprehensive services by working with patients, their families, and communities to deliver the highest quality of care across settings” (WHO, 2010, p.13). In my final practicum at I have experienced interprofessional collaboration, while involved with the methadone program at Rosthern Hospital. Nurses have an important role in the methadone program, and the involvement of nurses in the program
Nurses should foster collaborative planning to provide safe, high-quality, patient-centered health care. As nurses, we probably know the patients the best since we spend much more time with them than any other members of the care team. We are the liaison between the patient and the rest of the care team. We need to identify a potential problem or issue, and bring it to the attention of the whole care team. We should facilitate mutual trust, respect, shared decision-making, and open communication among all relevant persons in the care of the patients. With the collaborative support of the whole care team, the patients are in a much better position and are more likely to make an informed and deliberate decision. Besides, the collaboration among the care team can facilitate communication among the care providers, and provide a channel for the care providers to vent their stress caused by the ethical dilemmas that they encounter in work. The support from peers is very important for care providers to maintain their emotional and psychological
Nurses are key components in health care. Their role in today’s healthcare system goes beyond bedside care, making them the last line of defense to prevent negative patient outcomes (Sherwood & Zomorodi, 2014). As part of the interdisciplinary team, nurses have the responsibility to provide the safest care while maintaining quality. In order to meet this two healthcare system demands, the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project defined six competencies to be used as a framework for future and current nurses (Sherwood & Zomorodi, 2014). These competencies cover all areas of nursing practice: patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality
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).
Ignatavicius, D. D., & Workman, M. L. (2013). Medical-surgical nursing: patient-centered collaborative care (7th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders.
The term interdisciplinary refers to situations in which various disciplines are involved in reaching a common goal with each contributing his or her specific expertise. Teamwork is essential to reach any set goals or objectives. Every team member should have specific characteristics and functions in order for the team to function properly. Collaboration is important to ensure quality in completion of the task. In health care an interdisciplinary team is a group of health care professionals from diverse fields who work in a coordinated fashion toward a common goal for the patient/client and the patient’s families. During the coordination of care we may come across barriers making the goals tougher to achieve. As health care professionals we
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.
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
Intro- Collaboration with the interdisciplinary team plays a big part in the care of a patient.
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.
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
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,
There is evidence that suggests that working in partnership improves inter-professional understanding and relations (Pickard 2008) and access to services for service users is enhanced (Brown et al. 2002). When professionals work in partnership it brings about a range of benefits such as economy, efficiency and effectiveness. There are a range of benefits accrued to the service user such as enhanced quality of care in terms of support in out of clinical areas...