Nurses play an important role in achieving the competencies of interprofessional collaboration, quality improvement, and human flourishing. Successful interprofessional collaboration requires the willingness to step outside of one’s comfort zone and initiate interactions with other professionals. Nurses must also possess a well-rounded understanding of patient needs in order to know which types of professionals with which to collaborate. Communication skills are
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.
Interprofessional Practice (IPP) occurs when different professional groups work together and rely on one another to accomplish common goals and improve healthcare outcomes. The way in which healthcare professionals interact and communicate with one another affects the quality of healthcare they provide and can effect patient care and safety (Australasian Interprofessional Practice and Education Network). Barriers to effective interprofessional practice between doctors and nurses have been well documented and include problem power dynamics, poor communication, lack of understanding of one another’s roles and responsibilities and from conflict arising due to different approaches to patient care (Zwarenstein, Goldman & Reeves, 2009)
In interprofessional care, it is important that the health care providers build skills that enhance interprofessional communication and interaction no matter what model is practiced. Successful interprofessional communication is a necessary competency that can ensure achievements of outcomes, improvement of team functioning, efficiency, and individual value (Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel, 2011). Training, simulation experiences, group projects, and personal interactions with other staff members can facilitating positive or negative interactions that can affect communication. To ensure that successful interprofessional communication and interaction, much consideration should also be given to the environment
Those who are admitted to hospitals nowadays either through the emergency department or elective admission usually have multiple and complex health conditions and classically require more than one health professional to address these needs. In today’s hospital settings interprofessional collaboration is being promoted as a holistic means of providing patient centred care and plays an extremely important role in healthcare. It is said to improve the delivery of healthcare by reducing morbidity and mortality by decreasing wait times, improving chronic disease management and promoting patient safety (World Health Organisation, 2010).
As healthcare advances and becomes more convoluted there is an increase need for interprofessional collaboration to provide quality and patient-centered care. According to the Institute of Medicine (2015), not one profession can lead and expand interprofessional collaboration independently. It requires collaboration of all team members working to their highest level of functioning to provide patient centered care. Interprofessional collaboration involves healthcare professionals from multi-disciplinary teams with one common goal of providing excellent care to patients. To provide the best patient-centered and team based care all of the team members have to be in sync and willing
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
Zwarenstein et al (2007) designed and evaluated an intervention intended to improve interprofessional collaborative communication and patient-centred care. The intervention was aimed at the development of a hospital-based staff communication protocol designed to promote collaborative communication between healthcare professionals and ultimately, enhance patient-centred care within the team (Zwarentstein et al., 2007). The authors found that a substantial amount of interprofessional communication lacks three key core elements such as self-introduction, description of professional role, and solicitation of other professional perspectives (Zwarenstein et al, 2007). With these findings, the new protocol, based on the three identified core elements was designed to improve the overall culture of communication among healthcare providers.
From this class I understood that Interprofessional Education (IPE) is when two or more profession learn from, with and about each other. This collaboration is important in order to fulfill the patients’ needs that are becoming more complex, multi-faced and challenging day by day. It is also clear to me that no single profession in healthcare can adequately address all the demands of patients. Therefore, partnership between teams is required to provide a safe, timely, effective and equitable patient care. To have a smooth collaboration, it is necessary to learn from each other’s specializations, strength and experiences. In the real world, healthcare is an interdisciplinary team effort to provide the best possible service to a patient based on evidence based practices. Considering this, I had the
Interprofessional communication and collaboration are a significant part of ensuring safe and effective patient outcomes. In the case detailed below the health care team failed to communicate and collaborate care of patient A, ultimately leading to a negative outcome.
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).
Communication involves the exchange of messages and is a process which all individuals participate in. Whether it is through spoken word, written word, non-verbal means or even silence, messages are constantly being exchanged between individuals or groups of people (Bach & Grant 2009). All behaviour has a message and communication is a process which individuals cannot avoid being involved with (Ellis et al 1995).
Effective communication among professionals from different disciples is key area to care coordination (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 2007) however; Communication involves a variety of strategies and purposes (Kripalani et al, 2007). In an interprofessional collaboration, different professional groups work mutually as a team to develop a positive impact on health care. As said by Zwarenstein, Goldman & Reeves (2009) collaborative working is improved because of an agreement between different professionals through communication. Good communication is vital as It enables health care professionals to build relationships
This week’s assigned readings focus on the importance of inter-professional teamwork and collaboration within the healthcare environment. Porter-O Grady describes in the readings that the complex nature of our healthcare system and the complex needs of patients call for a multifaceted approach to patient care (2013). This is greatly because current healthcare practices often necessitate for patients to obtain care from various care settings and from various specialties, making it nearly impossible for one discipline to effectively meet all of the patient’s needs (Porter-O Grady,2013). Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) supports a multifaceted approach to care and is defined by Kara et al. (2015) as the process through which different discplines
Professional Communication is a very important element in the foundation for a strong health care system. Communication can also serve as a basis for basic health care administered. Communication is not only the one tool in health care in which we can control, but also what helps prevent the derailment in patient-healthcare professional trust.. Types of model that can help express how important professional communication is within health care is the movie titled, The Doctor. There are various examples in this movie in which the importance of professional communication is portrayed and supports the argument, as well. These types of examples and supporting data can also be found in real life testimonies of what type of situations can result from lack of professional communication in the health care setting. Communication teaches the importance in human-to-human contact that some hospitals and health care setting may lack due to the certain personality type that is more attracted to the roles of doctors. Professional communication should remain at the forefront of bed side manner and proper etiquette in the health care field and setting.