Inter Professional Practice

In the beginning of this activity, I did not know much about collaboration between different healthcare professionals. It helped me to clarify the meaning of a healthcare team and also to understand the role of different professionals in the team. Different team members have their specific roles and all of them work together to achieve a common goal –healthier patient. They work independently, but when it comes to decision making they seek advice from other healthcare provider in order to do the best for the patient. Not only doctor, physiotherapists, pharmacists and etc. are considered being part of the team. Patients must also be considered part of the decision making process,

Successful teamwork and collaboration directly affects the efficacy of interdisciplinary communication. When effective communication is achieved within the healthcare team, this increases the amount of positive patient outcomes. Nurses and physicians must cooperate in order to attain a synergetic relationship. Their roles are integral to creating a safe environment for their patients. When all of these elements combine, the quality of care improves and collegial relationships are strengthened.

Hall and Waver ( 2001) defines Interprofessional as a group of professionals from different disciplines such as nurses, doctors, pharmacist that are working and communicating with each other while providing their knowledge, skills and attributes to enhance and support the contributions of others. Suter et al (2009) also said that the ability to work in an interprofessional team to convey collaborative, patient-centered care is an important aspect of professional practice that involves a possession of a particular set of competencies, such as communication skills. In relation to (Weinstein et al., 2003) Collaboration is the collection of knowledge, skills, values and motives which transforms to effective practice when applied by practitioners.

“All health care disciplines share a common and primary commitment to serving the patient and working toward the ideal of health for all.” (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2014, p. 1) There are many different professional members in the healthcare system. Each of them, have a specific specialty and responsibility to the patient and play an important role in the patient’s overall plan of care. “The scope of health care mandates that health professionals work collaboratively and with other related disciplines. Collaboration emanates from an understanding and appreciation of the roles and contributions that each discipline brings to the care delivery experience.” (American Association of Colleges of

Healthcare is continuously changing with the modern times and whilst there have been many advancements in technologies and techniques; the roles of health care professionals have also changed significantly and the crucial need for inter-professional practice emerged. Interprofessional practice is essential as there is no single profession that can meet all of a patient's needs. (Matziou et al., 2014) For an effective interprofessional collaboration, it is essential that all professionals have a clear definition, awareness, and recognition of each profession and they are able to communicate effectively between different professions (Caldwell and Atwal, 2003). This essay will explain interprofessional practice and why it is essential for quality health outcomes, outline the roles and responsibilities of several health care professions and discuss the importance of interprofessional communication.

The delivery of safe, affordable and quality healthcare to clients is an integral part in today`s health care. In order to provide the aforementioned care; inter-professional (IP) collaboration of the health care members is essential. The need for IP collaboration has been identified by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the federal government, the Department of Health and Human Services. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) has identified the IP collaboration as an essential element of nursing education in the AACN Essential Series (Messer, n.d.). Evidence suggests that the collaboration among health professionals has been associated positively with patient outcomes in the operating room, the emergency

An imperative element of Interprofessional practice is communication, that not only between patients, but also between healthcare colleagues. Communication restricts, controls and determines the timing and amount of practitioner intervention– making it essential that consistent interaction between other healthcare professionals occurs to prevent ill management of the patient. A journal article titled “Role understanding and effective communication as core competencies for collaborative practice” written by Suter et al. in 2009 describes team meetings and shared patient data as two simple procedures that involve and prepare members to meticulously care for their patients, referencing also Interprofessional worker’s appreciation for any disposition to learn, adapt and improve professionally and clinically during care. The process of referrals also plays a large part in communication.

In recent times, in the field of health communication, a shift in beliefs has become apparent. Many feel that the physician-centered approach is no longer the best way to manage the interaction between patients and doctors. A new collaborative approach has been adopted by many. This collaborative approach is more of a partnership between the patient and doctor. More communicating by the patient, and more listening by the doctor. When the doctor and patient speak to one another, they speak to each other as peers sharing ideas,

Working in a team is an important responsibility by understanding each other’s role which may include doctor, nurse, occupational therapist, physiotherapist and many more. Team members divide the work based on their scope practice such as acute care, metal health care, homecare etc. Interprofessional collaboration practice is decision making and communicating between individuals for their patient’s health based on their knowledge and skills. It helps to promote habits, maximizing health resources, leading care to be safer with patient’s satisfaction and Canada’s health care (Kenaszchuk, Reeves, Nicholas, & Zwarenstein, 2010).

Research into the effects of IPW has shown that a lack of collaborative working results in adverse effects on health care and patient care that a service user receives (Zwarenstein, Reeves & Goldman, 2009). The WHO library published a review of a study assessing the impact of interventions aimed at improving interprofessional and collaborative working in healthcare. The review examined interprofessional rounds, interprofessional meetings and externally facilitated inter-professional audit. The results proposed that interprofessional collaboration can improve the healthcare that service users (Apps.who.int,

In order to collaborate successfully with the other members of the team, they have to ‘work together’. Collaboration implies “working together to achieve something that neither agency could achieve alone” (cited by Biggs in Day, 2006, p9). It involves effective communication and contribution to a common goal – and the health and wellbeing of the patient and shared responsibility of the outcome. Each team requires a quality leader, regular meetings attended by all members, joint assessment, regular reviews of patient records which should include ‘shared care plans’; joint decisions following consultation and task delegation to individual team members with the outcome being that “care must be structured, organised and systematically provided to each person in a variety of ways” (Creating an Interprofessional Workforce, 2007, p10).

A weakness in communication between interdisciplinary team members can impact patient safety and health . A recent study revealed that out of all the claims analyzed , 57 percent of malpractice cases reflected miscommunication between two or more healthcare providers (Riah, 2015). In fact, the same communication failures directly linked to 1,744 deaths over the past five years (Budryk, 2016). During my clinical placement this semester I have witnessed the overwhelming number of health care team members that are involved in each patient’s care. I also take part in morning nursing rounds where all nurses are updated on every patient’s status. Transmission of permanent patient information is also relayed to all members of the health team via the patient chart .Here , interdisciplinary notes all come together to form updated health information on patients. However, although I have read interdisciplinary notes from all team members , I rarely have had the opportunity to personally communicate with members other than doctors and nurses. Personal communication allows for a team member to pass on relevant information in a timely manner without the possibility or misinterpretations. When communication is strictly done non-verbally, it is impossible to ask any questions.. This is why communication between professionals in health care is essential for patient safety and improved quality of care (Koivunen, Niemi., & Hupli,2015). There are 3 main factors that cause miscommunication

Teamwork in health care engages the practices of collaboration and improves communication which increases the traditional roles of health workers and to make decisions as a unit that works toward a common goal. The Canadian Health Services Research Foundation reports that teams function better when they are given clear instructions and implementation rules and actions. In addition, the importance of meetings and other communication tools to discuss patient results, share information, and debate suggestions to improve performance. Teamwork and collaboration are especially essential to the care of each patient in a distributed health system with many levels of health care workers. Multidisciplinary in health care profession in which doctors, nurses, health professionals from different specialties area must work together, communicate often, and share their resources to achieve the right outcome for each patient.

Teamwork is vital in healthcare.  When all participants are engaged in a program, goals are successfully achieved. Being able to communicate and work collectively as a team requires an appreciation for each other’s area of practice.  Every team member has an important role and being acknowledged provides a sense of responsibility and accountability. Essentially, inter-professional collaboration helps ensure that the patient is getting care that is not only accessible but also comprehensive.  The plan of a patients’ care includes active participation by all health care professionals working interdependently in accordance to the patient’s preferences, values and beliefs. The health care team accomplishes the goal of meeting the patient’s medical needs by delivering evidence-based practice.   To deliver quality care, the patient should always be involved.

　　　　An effective care for patients can be achieved through the collaboration and team work within the certain health care teams to provide a focused and shared learning in health professional education, which can help enhance the outcome of the patient’s needs.1 Working with different professionals and care givers can lead to issues. This can be looked upon so that the patient is given good service and enhanced care.