Teamwork And Collaboration In Nursing

Effective communication is essential for a nurse in a leadership position. If a nurse is not able to convey or transfer pertinent information to other team members or clients, conflict or problems can arise. A nurse is able to effectively communicate through creating synergy, establishing a purpose or goal, actively listening, being truthful, and being responsible. When a nurse leader is able to successfully communicate, patient safety increases and medical errors decrease which leads to a higher percentage of positive patient outcomes. Effective communication fosters positive nurse-patient and nurse-team member relationships.

This essay will discuss the topic of communication, providing an overview of the topic in relation to professional practise within adult nursing and then about children’s nursing and why it is important. Further outlining how communication influences all the choices we make, and how we adapt these skills to meet the needs of the patient. The similarities between these two fields of nursing and the differences and what skills are required when applying this in clinical practise will be expanded on. Further to this, this essay will discuss

Interprofessional team collaboration for professional nurses is viewed as a method to improve the care and safety for patients. However, interprofessional team collaboration presents both advantages and challenges for nurses and other team members. One of the advantages is the coordination of care for the patient and the sharing of knowledge to improve the outcomes for the patient. Challenges for interprofessional team collaboration is: poor role-definition, miscommunication, conflict, lack of accountability for assignment of responsibilities and tasks (Reeves, 2012). This paper will discussion the role of a nurse on an interprofessional team and the challenges, why interprofessional teams promote patient safety, and strategies to promote success interprofessional teams.

Courtenay, Nancarrow, and Dawson (2013) reviewed numerous articles that studied the effect of teamwork education (communication, cooperation, etc.) on the time and outcome of care. Courtenay et al. (2013) found that effective teamwork decreased the time necessary for critical treatments or surgery and also reduced the number of errors made. Courtenay et al. (2013) write that teams performed well when the responsibilities and role of each team member was known. Courtenay et al. (2013) also state that good teams shared an overall sense of mutual responsibility of the outcome of the patient.

The history of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals is a story of the health professions’ commitment to patient care of high quality in the 20th century. According to Dr. Ernest Codman, founder of the accreditation system, which would enable hospitals to track every patient it treat long enough to determine whether or not the treatment was effective. If not, the hospital would figure out how to prevent similar failures in the future (Roberts, Coale & Redman, 1987).

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) core measures in relation to Heart Failure (HF) was examined using empirical-based nursing research. Findings suggest that lack of understanding by nurses contributes significantly to the privation of core measure implementation. A significant number of Americans suffer from HF, so patient quality of care assessment was necessitated. Identifying factors were: nurse-patient education resulting in follow-up appointments, left ventricular performance or left ventricular systolic (LVS) function, treatment medications, and smoking cessation programs. Nurses provide an important role in the education of patients with HF. The Nurse is integral in providing documentation in relation to LVS. Nurses play an important role in the administration of HF medication. Smoking, a major cause of HF, requires special nursing intervention. Nursing results in improved quality of care if HF core measures are implemented properly. Additionally, Orem’s universal requisites are fundamental in the nursing process.

Communication is any form of expressing and receiving of messages between individuals. The importance of Communication in the nursing profession is to maintain high quality care for the patient but also maintain effective collaboration between professionals. Boykins, D (2014) states that the “registered nurse is expected to communicate in various formats and in all areas of practice”. Various formats include speaking to patients and coworkers as well as utilizing appropriate protocols and systems to effectively communicate regards to patient’s status.

The joint commission on accreditation of healthcare organization (JCAHO), which is currently known as the Joint Commission, is a private and non-profit making organization. This represents non-governmental operations but separately as an independent body. The main aim of the organization is to develop the safety of the public healthcare, and the quality of service provided by health organizations. Safety and quality is measured by the compliance to the standards provided by the joint commission. Its members include the ADA (American Dental Association), AMA (American Medical Association), and (ACP) American College of Physicians among others. Those members that comply fully with the standards of the joint commission are regarded with respect of the best service providers. Organizations with the reputation usually attract more practitioners and clients (Uselton et al 2010).

In the decision-making process related to patient care nurses are often perceived as having less authority than doctors. This can impact on how they behave and are treated within interprofessional teams. This essay will discuss interprofessional practice and the role of nurses within interprofessional teams. It will examine challenges faced by nurses in being accepted as equal partners within these teams, and explore solutions to this issue.

In nursing profession, communication is one of the vital interprofessional collaboration competencies. A slack in communication gap will affect effective teamwork in providing efficient patient care delivery. Without integrated cooperation and effective communication, there will be a delinquency in the healthcare system, resulting in

The American Nurses Association (ANA) “Code of Ethics for Nurses” (ANA, 2001) states: “The nurse promotes, advocates for, and strives to protect the health, safety, and rights of the patient”. This reflects that advocating for the patient directly correlates with the safety and well-being of the patient. The key part to patient advocacy is effective communication. In recent times, there has been a focus on the connection of effective communication between healthcare workers and patient safety. A number of Institute of Medicine reports has brought focus to the severe matter. The reports have emphasized the concern of the lack of communication in the healthcare setting and the resulting negative patient outcomes. (Hanks, 2012a). This goes back to the notion that while many healthcare professionals consider themselves as a working member of a team, we have the natural tendency to work autonomously. Therefore, it is the nurse’s duty to collaborate patient centered care by practicing good communication skills with the entire healthcare team, the patient, and the patient’s family if consent is given to assure patient safety.

Accreditation is a recognized seal of approval for many institutions in the United States. It is needed by the hospitals to become providers in the Medicare program. In order to receive payment from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), hospitals are required to meet a set of minimum requirements called conditions of participation. There are three organizations that can accredit hospitals based on the participation requirements– the Joint Commission, the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), or the state certification agencies [1]. More than 80% hospitals in the country voluntarily use the Joint Commission for accreditation purposes.

In this essay I will recall and describe my experience in a health care environment and reflect on communication in that interaction. I will look into interpersonal and communication skills used by the health professional and what I learned from this interaction. And if I am going to use those skills in my future nursing practice.

In this essay I will concentrate on inter-professional collaboration which is cornerstone for providing better care to patients. I will try to examine some benefits and opportunities, while identifying the barriers and issues to effective collaborative work between employees. Throughout my essay I will be using LEARN format for better reflection on my clinical practice, my thoughts and feeling. As a nursing student in Early Identification team which is focused on maternal and children’s health, I will discuss my experience as being a part of this team.

Teamwork and communication are very important in providing good quality care, especially in the healthcare field. A team is described as a group of people that works together and cooperatively, between each member of the group to reach a common goal (Sullivan, 2013). For a team to function, communication is essential. A report by McKay and Crippen (2008), as stated by Alfaro-LeFevre, (2013) showed that when collaboration is in place, hospitals can decrease their mortality rate by 41%. When mortality rate is lower, hospitals does not only decreased cost, but it also means that patients are receiving good quality care.