Roles Of Inter Professional Communication In Nursing

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

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

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

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.

It has been said that “effective teamwork and communication in healthcare helps the functioning of the team itself, however, for a patient it is pivotal, and in some cases can be the difference between life and death” (Knox & Simpson, 2004; Mickan, 2005). Inter-professional Education – IPE- can be defined as “occasions when two or more professions learn from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care” (CAIPE, 1997 revised). Therefore, Inter-professional Education is an integral mechanism in establishing the key teamwork and communication skills that will need to be implemented in a healthcare setting in the future as “no one individual will have all the knowledge and skills required to meet the needs of patients” (Reeves et al, 2010). My reflection of this IPE experience will be based upon both the Kolb Cycle (Kolb, 1984) and the Tuckman model (Tuckman, 1965).

Interprofessional practice is widely researched, and is held in high regard within education and policy; the issue is the lack of evidence of this collaboration being implemented within the health care system and hospitals (Kenny, 2002). Multidisciplinary care allows for multiple professions to work alongside each other, while working towards their own individual goals. Meanwhile, interprofessional practice involves all professionals working together as a team towards one goal, which is the overall health of the patient (Botten, 2012). Kenny (2002) suggests that interprofessional practice is an opportunity to diminish any power barriers, and considers all other professionals roles and responsibilities. This allows different professions to care for a patient based on their education, skills, specialties, and experiences. Botten (2012) proposes that this leads to a number of different perspectives, shared responsibilities, a decrease in medical errors and enhanced staff morale. The concept of different professionals working together is crucial in patient care because as stated previously, not one profession could possibly care for all of the needs of modern patients (Hilton et al., 2002). Research suggests that one reason for not implementing interprofessional practice is the

On many occasions, I have seen situations in which effective communication involving the professional healthcare team played a vital role in the positive outcome of patient care. On the other hand, there have been miscommunication between the healthcare team resulting in situations that could have been tragic to the patient.

Interprofessional competency education is essential to patient quality outcomes because as stated in the Institute of medicine’s report patients have complex medical issues that can best be addressed by interprofessional teams. By training current and future health care workers to work in such teams we facilitate the model and the results is improved healthcare outcomes for patients. The model help professionals to understand the important role each person adds to the team.

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.

et al., 2013).It strengthens professional identities and enables students to recognize the importance and uniqueness of their profession as well as others. According to Hoffman and Harnish (2007), Interprofessional education helps healthcare professionals to gain knowledge and insight into health-related fields and appreciate the need for all members of a patient-care team. Inter-professional care has been associated lower clinical error and better outcomes for patients. Research shows that collaboration between health fields leads to higher patient satisfaction rates and more organized structure of work in clinical settings (Reeves et al., 2013).

Interprofessional practice is a collaborative practice where multiple health professionals work together in health services to provide comprehensive services to their patients, families and communities to get a more effective result by improving the quality of work. The collaborative practise is basically used by the nursing team or other health care workers who are the member of interprofessional team. “A call for interprofessional team and collaborative practice development has been sounded across Canada because this model is viewed as the way to ensure that all professionals and providers can practice to the full potential of their role and competencies” (Potter, 2014). Interprofessional collaborative practice is a way to ensure that human health resources are used properly which help to decrease the duration time for achieving a quality care.

“Interprofessional working involves complex interactions between two or more members of different professional disciplines. It is a collaborative venture in which those involved share the common purpose of developing mutually negotiated goals achieved through agreed plans which are monitored and evaluated according to agreed procedures. This requires the pooling of knowledge and expertise to facilitate joint decision making based upon shared professional viewpoints” (Barrett, Sellman & Thomas, 2005, p18). How individuals collaborate and work towards a common goal for the benefit of the patient is essential for a swift recovery.

Inter-professional practice is a joint practice from healthcare providers such as CQC, NICE and organizational group, working in partnership with a variety of people within their profession, outside their profession, patients, families and friends (Anon, 2018). The various agencies are dedicated and work together to safeguard and provide quality of care to service users. Figure (3.3A) Inter-Professional Working Collaboration Model

Nursing requires an understanding and person centred approach in order for a nurse to reach their full potential and provide the best possible care they can to a patient. Although there are many ways in which a nurse can provide person centred care, such as effective communication when forming therapeutic relationships with patients, it is also important we as nurses are able to work well in a team and not just as individuals. The Nursing and midwifery Council Code of conduct highlights the importance of teamwork and that nurses must “work in partnership with people to make sure you deliver care effectively.”(NMC 2015.) According to Leonard et al. (2004), when communication is lost among team members this is a common cause of patient harm