Inter-professional Healthcare Teams

Communication in the healthcare field may be a little different for some people. Healthcare requires the communication to have a purpose, and that purpose is revolved around a person’s needs. A patient with good staff communication during

2.2 In a small practice with part-time team members there is a high possibility of communication failure for example; messages not being passed on at all or incorrectly, decisions made earlier in the week without involvement or reference to all colleagues. This may result in mixed perceptions or feelings of marginalisation. To overcome this barrier, staff meetings are to be held on dates where all staff can attend. If this is not possible the minutes of the meeting should be written out and forwarded on to the appropriate people. It is also important to seek feedback regularly to check the message has been conveyed in a clear and concise way. Forums and emails are an efficient mechanism for short, chatty updates. It is also a good method of quickly communicating messages to several people and allowing further discussion with feedback and input.

The difference between interdisciplinary teams and Interprofessional teams is that interdisciplinary team perform their work in a collaborative fashion. Each member of the team, while providing the group with the knowledge and skills of his or her disciplinary perspective, also strives to incorporate that perspective with those of others to create solutions to health care problems that transcend conventional, discipline-specific method, procedures, and techniques. Communication by far is essential to collaboration and interaction. However, Interprofessional teams has to do with learning together as a team. Their collaboration interaction is characterized by the integration as well as modification of different professions. By having basic knowledge and skills related to your own profession you can share your knowledge with others as they will do the

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,

The capacity and disciplines sustaining human medicine and patient care overlap diverse fields. The reality of protecting, improving and providing care to patients in any the health care facility and or emergency room includes an effective relationship with an innovative radiology division (Columbia University Medical Center. (CUMC), (2015). Routinely, the emergency room works in direct partnership with the radiology, putting patient first in providing care. A patient admitted to the health care facility is typically under the care of a specific team of professionals who provide effective care by collaborating with other professionals in interrelated field of medicine. Collaboration and teamwork among health care

In order for both teams to collaborate and successfully provide care to the patient, they must possess effective communication skills. For example, both teams should be active listeners. Listening actively reflects respect for what each person is thinking. With mutual respect, team members

The efficiency of the team model is dependent on effective communication. Poor communication among the team members can place both team members and patients at risk. In addition, the doctors or other health providers may prefer to communicate with the charge nurse, which can lead to a breakdown of communication and subsequently influence patient care. To ensure open and effective communication, phones will be provided to staff for communication among and between team members and charge nurse. Non-urgent patient communication will be written on a team specific communication board.

A Multi-Disciplinary team (MDT) contains health professionals that work in partnership with clients to produce better health outcomes REF. They provide care that is efficient and effective (MOH, 2014c). Depending on the stage of the long term condition the MDT members differ in specialised fields that offers expertise and specific skills beneficial to the patient (MOH, 2014c)

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).

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 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.

This is a reflective essay based on a event which took place in a hospital setting. The aim of this essay is to explore how members of the Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) worked together and communicate with each other to achieve the best patients outcome.

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.

Teams working in a hospital or other healthcare setting may consist of several physicians, nurses, medical assistants, referral coordinators, pharmacists, therapists, and students among others. Such large teams can provide comprehensive care for complex and chronic illnesses, but when they fail to work well together, they