The Purpose, Scope and Context of Interprofessional Collaboration - Essay Example

The purpose, scope and context of interprofessional collaboration Number Department Section This essay explores what I have gone through in this module. It critically examines the role I have played throughout the module, which generally brought together several professionals drawn from various health care faculties. I begin the discussion by elaborating the meaning of interprofessional education (IPE) and its significance to my training experience. According to Curran et al (2010), interprofessional collaboration is a coordinated effort to bring various health care providers together to train on how to work in a synergized way for better patients’ welfare. Smith and Seeley (2010) indicate that under the program, physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and social workers among others health care workers join forces to create effective working teams across various units within a care facility. The importance of interprofessional collaboration has taken precedence since the second-half of the twentieth century, with several studies confirming that the practice improves communication and respect among health care staff for easier (Dreyer, Forde, & Nortvedt, 2011; Gillespie et al, 2010; Fisher, 2010; Wolf, 2012). These values are a priority in the effective delivery of services (Sandahl, 2010; Burke, & Doody, 2012). Interprofessional collaboration is important to the realization of success in training, leadership and execution of duties (Fothergill et al, 2011). Kirschling, and Erickson (2010) note that this helps to improve the predilection of health care staff to adopt quality and innovativeness in their services, regardless of the challenges in a busy health care facility. Chan et al (2010) suggested that interprofessional practice advances activities that support accessible care; promotes interprofessional training among all care experts during their training and throughout their occupation; promotes effective partnership between nurses and physicians and other care providers in ensuring quality care within the industry. Culley and Polyakova-Norwood (2012) indicate that the most effective strategy for implementing interprofessional collaboration is by integrating such programs in training facilities. In light of this, I managed to work in a team of diverse professionals in the course of this module. The purpose of this module was to strengthen the participants’ skills in preparation for the real-life work. In the United Kingdom, for example, health care trainees such as nurses are being taken through effective collaborative programs, purposely to build their interpersonal skills (Curran et al, 2010). Under the program, nurse trainees have been able to acquire vital skills on how to be proactive in disease prevention and management measures as opposed to being excluded from major decisions involving the patients Gillespie et al, 2010). McCloughen, Gillies, and O'Brien (2011) indicate that IPE enables trainee nurses to respond to health care needs of their patients in a collaborative approach. According to Mills et al (2010), interprofessional collaboration enables student nurses to have effective training on the best practices that are vital to the care facility, especially for those working in far-flung areas. I will now proceed to explore my experiences whilst participating as a member of a team during this module. The environment where the interprofessional training took place was adequately prepared. With participants organized into lean working teams comprising 11, we managed to achieve the best out of it all. This success can be attributed to the organization of the students into manageable teams that are comparable to the effective working teams in the actual workplace environment. The direct interaction between nearly a dozen professionals who are specialized in various fields such as nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, mental health, child care, social work and medical care provided the diversity that is normally found in a typical health care facility, and which we highly neededto come to terms with the feel of the actual place of work. Zeitz et al, 2011, and Mandrack et al (2012), emphasize the need to create an interprofessional setting that is similar to a typical one by bringing on board various key players in the industry. The first opportunity served as my eye-opener. I managed to understand that a health care facility is not always how I thought it to be. The first impression I developed after viewing various media clips on the interprofessional learning, offered me the opportunity to appreciate the importance of collaboration among the various health care staff for the patient’s good. I learned that failure to do so may easily touch off the problem of poor patient care where the care providers are in conflict with each other, instead of working in a synergized way. Throughout this module, I also learnt of the importance of infection control as a way to protect the life of the sick and the care providers. It is notable, that I managed to acquire advanced health care skills and the vital knowledge to spearhead innovative and appropriate services in infection control in the real-life situation both in care facilities and the general community. Key among the skill-set that I count myself lucky to have acquired involves an integrated learning to operate in a diverse real-life learning environment. The following section explores the group members’ perception of their professions. The IP learning group alters the perceptions of the student participants (Dreyer, Forde, & Nortvedt, 2011; Bronstein et al, 2012). In light of this, all of the 11 members of my group came out with completely diverse views of their perceptions. However, the experiences enabled the group members to appreciate each other’s role in a typical care facility (Vosit-Steller et al, 2011). Following the introductory session, the discussion took centre stage with professional groups forming the main topic of discussion. I did manage to limit my contribution to a comparison between my profession to others within the team. Members of each of the groups that participated in the discussion also preferred their specific groups, pointing out the positive contributions that such groups make within the health care facility. The main difference on opinion regarding the uniqueness and importance of the groups was mainly due to the social identity theory (Curran et al, 2010). According to Averlid and Axelsson (2012), the theory is premised upon self-concept, and stems from one’s subscription to a certain group. Therefore, owing to the tendency of all the participating groups to root for their respective professions, I immediately learnt of the important role played by all of the professions in the provision of quality patient care. The following section contains my experiences as a participant in a team on-line. Section 2 The online medium provided me with a unique opportunity to access and share information with various members of the different groups in a virtually easier way (Bronstein et al, 2012). As Petroro et al (2011) suggested, the of use of the online medium for group discussion processes saw every group being asked to explore our original perceptions of all the members in regard to the significance of the use of the online medium within the industry. This elicited mixed reactions, with some members of the group pointing out the significance and pitfalls of communication technologies to the industry. Every member of the discussion board recognized our original perceptions were driven by professional connotations. According to Dreyer, Forde, and Nortvedt (2011), the establishment of typecasts among different professionals during their admission to various training programs is often mild, however by the time the students are through with their training they have undergone a significant moulding process that places them in their ‘rightful’ place to advance their parochial interests and individual perceptions of the online community. As a nurse trainee I believe that I have the capacity to recognize the significance of the online medium in communication. I pointed out that one of the significant reasons why such technologies are important in health care is that these tools offer the various care providers a seamless way to communicate. Through effective communication mechanisms, Bronstein et al (2012) note that various care providers can access the vital information they need with relative ease and relay them to the relevant personnel for action. In contrast, other groups expressed their reservations on the use of technologies by saying that working online has limited face-to-face interaction, and as such may impede proper teamwork. The diverse perceptions of groups regarding the use of online medium were mainly premised upon the benefits and challenges that the new technology might present (Schmied et al 2010). Different researchers have argued that the medium can help to ease the work of clinicians if the right systems and personnel are involved, but present challenges when the systems fail to work due to human hitches (Clark & Allison-Jones, 2011; Weller, Barrow, & Gasquoine, 2011). This lack of collaboration in terms of technology-based communications between care providers, especially the interactions with medical staff, is evident in a research done by (Dreyer, Forde, & Nortvedt, 2011; Keller et al, 2011). Morrison and Symes (2011) also note that nurse practitioners, chemists and social workers have historically faced communication breakdown in their effort to collaborate with medical staff online. The physicians have demonstrated a general stereotype of unwillingness to cooperate with other care providers based on roles, social status and gender, contradictory tendencies about the independence of the other care providers, and a general need for acknowledging physicians’ capacity (Miller et al, 2008; (Sims, 2011). Rose (2011) and Orchard (2010) concur on the stereotype, noting that this state of affairs is mainly premised upon the perception of members of the profession, that they possess superior training and as such they are the most important of all the care providers. . I think this kind of perception may present serious risks to the health care environment by impeding teamwork and upon evaluation. I realized that if we fail to have a perception of teamwork, various groups participating in the provision of care would have their productivity highly impacted. Poirrier and Oberleitner (2011) note that teams can only work in a synergized manned if team members have particular knowledge and skills in their respective areas of expertise; and have unifying attitudes in the health care provision. Averlid and Axelsson (2012) narrows down these attitudes into more specific practices which include; the skill of keeping in touch with each other regarding their performance, via modern communications; and upholding better communication skills. Meanwhile, following my experiences in using the online tools for familiarity and easier use in future, I learnt that technology offers great opportunities for health care providers but only if properly used by the relevant quarters and health care staff. Section 3 Generally, my experience throughout this module has enabled me to consider proposing various changes that if implemented, could lead to the improvement of care provision. First, owing to the significance of interprofessional learning in responding to the dynamics of team work as a way to provide better communication within working teams and care providers, I feel it is important that regular professional education be established to aid constant service improvement at the care facility. I propose that ‘natural’ interpersonal skills should be nurtured through the establishment of interprofessional working relationships, interprofessional education, on-the-job training, and the improvement of services within the context of social learning theory. This will transform the current ‘artificial’ and ‘temporary’ interprofessional learning strategies that are carried out during training only. Secondly, it is important to acknowledge, and promote power within teams. This can only happen if members of the team recognize the important role played by other professional groups. To ensure that effective teamwork is nurtured and takes effect, I propose three strategies namely, promoting team-based work among professionals with specific knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs); restructuring tasks, and workflow to ensure the professionals work together; and by carrying out targeted training initiatives within the workplace. Of all the strategies, training and modification of the various roles of the professionals in such a way that each participant compliments the effort of the other are likely to yield best results. Thirdly, stereotypes hurt the provision of care within hospitals by impacting the dynamics of teamwork and power wielded by the various members and groups of the care team. The most common stereotype is the physicians’ perception that they are the most important experts within a health care setting. Such stereotypes can be best handled through team building initiatives that are held outside of the usual workplace environment. These may include slight bonding exercises; and retreats aimed forging effective working teams, which may last for several days. Culley and Polyakova-Norwood (2012) aver that team building generally revolves around best practices within organizational development, and can yield positive outcomes for the health care facilities as well. In a nutshell, this module has immensely developed my experience and equipped me with the necessary skills that are practically viable in a typical health care environment. More specifically, I am better placed to go about my business in such an environment by appreciating the contribution of all the players. Additionally, I am better equipped to appreciate the integration of various moves with technology to achieve better care for patients. This module has changed my perceptions from the belief that my profession is the most important in a care facility, to viewing the whole health care staff as important to the successes of service delivery. . 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