Multidisciplinary Nursing - Report Example

Running Head: Team Work Student’s Name: Professor’s Name: Subject Code and Name: Date Submitted: Introduction The role that nurse take on in health care facilities has always been a controversial topic ever since nursing found its base in Australia. Therefore, since there are many duties to be taken care of by nurses, the spirit of teamwork is usually encouraged. This is usually encouraged during the courses, where team work is taught and students from other academic disciplines are allowed to participate (Mitchell, 2005). Team work is very important in nursing since important decision making processes are involved in their daily activities. In order to carry this out effectively interdisciplinary/ multidisciplinary is used to achieve this factor. Advantages of interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary More information Research is a major aspect in nursing and it involves critical thinking and assessment. Collaboration has been proved to work better during the research activities carried out thus different disciplines have been brought together to do this. Arguing among themselves and working together encourages team work and healthier results (Pearson, 2003). This is very important since the research being carried involves the lives and health of other individuals. Therefore, when each team conducts its research and presents it together, they are able to evaluate and will have collected more information than when working alone (Finkelman & Keller, 2010). As much as using interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary methods in conducting research so as to build an adaptable and skilled team is advantageous it also has its disadvantageous. Multidisciplinary team in allied health A multidisciplinary team involves a team of focused professionals in the health department. Multidisciplinary allied health requires a good formation and therefore, the people selected to participate in the team are skilled and they mainly come together to look at and address issues faced by patients medically. The multidisciplinary teams include a range of skilled people such as; general practitioners, community health nurses and graduate nurses as well among others in the same discipline. Allied health professionals and people teaching about health are also needed in the team. Working together as a team requires collaboration so that everything can be able to work together (Kings & Roberts, 2004). The results collected will be different and when put together, the results will be more meaningful. Builds on teamwork Interdisciplinary encourages strong teamwork relations among the students, which is very advantageous. Where one had been focused on working alone and achieving their own results, they are forced to work together with other people. Given the diverse nature of people conducting the research may prove to be difficult at the beginning but eventually the results collected are good. Nursing involves one taking on many roes that sometimes may require assistance from others and when one has learnt to work well with others, they will be able to conduct themselves appropriately. This will help work get done easier and much faster. Not only in nursing homes but the research conducted is wide and may sometimes seem to be a little ambiguous. Therefore, one would need assistance from other academic sources and interdisciplinary/ multidisciplinary provides that for them. Leadership skills Effective leadership skills are molded in the students while using the interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research systems. This would mean working together, which may prove to be a problem at first since everyone would seem to have their own ideas. In order or this to work leadership skills need to be exercised among the team (Arlene, et.al. 2004). This is because in multidisciplinary people from other studies are involved and different ideas are presented, there is bound to be a disagreement in between. Therefore, one must have qualities of a good leader in order to lead a team appropriately (Nolan, 1995). This way a more organised team is created and the different studies conducted in science can be done effectively and in an orderly manner. Above all other factors teamwork is encouraged among the students and other researchers involved. Teamwork is a very important factor in nursing as it is usually exercised in the area of practice. Teamwork builds on the knowledge of the student in various ways. Since it involves different academic disciplines, one is able to share in the knowledge and concepts of other people as well as accept their research methods (Chenger, 2004). Facing cultural differences Working together involves one confronting issues such as cultural differences. Cultural differences will always exist in all fields and being able to confront the issue early, the better it is for the students. This is because as a nurse taking care of patients, one will be dealing with people from different cultures and beliefs and they may be able to handle the matter appropriately due to the experience one received in multidisciplinary teams. When working together one may be able to observe how other conduct themselves according to their culture and be able to adapt to that or know how to take care of similar situations. Gaining communication skills The communication skills are improved when interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research teams are implemented. It has been noted before through recent research studies that some graduate nurses are having problems communicating with health professionals in health care centers. This is not an issue that has had a lot of light shed on it, and the fact that it was note proves that multidisciplinary would be very beneficial to nurses and other students as well. The problem is noted in the area of drug administration to the patient, the nurses cannot be able to communicate directly to the health professionals (Jenkins, 2001). Therefore, in research teams they will be able to exercise their communicating skills and when working in healthcare centers will be able to address the doctors appropriately. This is because multidisciplinary encourages engaging work that all the students are forced to participate and since they are from different academic disciplines, they will be forced to ask questions if need be (Allsop & Saks, 2007). Disadvantages of interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary Multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary research teams may not seem to be as beneficial to others. The major disadvantage is the prospect of confusion and misunderstanding. Due to the involvement of people from other academic disciplines, most of the students may not see eye to eye on most of the research conducted. Arguments are likely to occur most of the time and this may lead to some of the students being confused and rather end up misunderstanding the whole concept (Holloway, 1997). This would be far from the main aim of implementing interdisciplinary research teams. Rather than helping them gain more knowledge it would be draining knowledge from them. Therefore, other than help the students interdisciplinary would be confusing them at some point or level. Wastage of time Multidisciplinary may lead to a lot of time being wasted, when time is spent on arguing. Due to the fact that every team would be presenting their own scientific or medical knowledge to the team, there are bound to be disagreements. Time would be consumed arguing points and facts out other than on conducting other researches (Wakefield, et.al. 2008). This is a weakness to the team especially where there is no team work being exercised. Everybody has their own diverse ways and trying to cooperate will tend to be difficult for the team as whole. Lack of defined roles The multidisciplinary environment may cause some of the people working in the team not have defined roles in nursing. Multidisciplinary involves people from different disciplines academically thus having different roles as well (Hemminki, 1989). Working together might cause some people to have blurred roles or rather may not have a defined role. Since nursing has many roles to be served it might confuse others leading them to assume roles that were not initially theirs (Brown, 2008). This will lead to further confusion and may even complicate the lives of patients in healthcare centers. Therefore, multidisciplinary is sometimes not encourages especially in areas where the students do not have defined roles. Cultural disputes As much as some of the students may benefit from cultural differences while working together, cultural differences may prove to be problematic in some areas. Some of the people who have strong faith in their beliefs may tend to make it hard to provide a collaborative environment. Scientific ways always contrast with traditional methods and trying to prove that to some of the people may be difficult creating a wider rift between their differences (Dyer, 2003). Therefore, the methodology applied by the teams may tend to differ greatly due to cultural differences. Time spent trying to convince each other would have been spent gathering more information and in cases like this, some nurses would not know how to handle such a situation with patients in healthcare centers. Demonstration of Integration of Personal Experience Description As an undergraduate nurse student, I work in a low care facility nursing home as a personal care assistant taking care of the elderly and looking after their personal needs. Working with Div 2 nurses, other personal care assistants, care managers and practitioners has really helped improve my skills. Especially since I am currently in my third year looking forward to becoming RN div 1 and working here has helped improve on my leadership skills. While working here in the home I have had the opportunity of exercising my leadership skills effectively. One of the patients was having a problem trying to take care of one of the patients by dressing his wound. Observing the young nurse I saw that she was trying to very hard and it led to an argument and a struggle between the patient and the nurse and I was forced to intervene. I separated the nurse from the patient and let her know that the elderly patients may tend to be stubborn and one should be very patient while attending to them. I talked her through the process where she is supposed to be gentle and understanding since the patient needs to be taken care of regardless. The patient continued to be stubborn but after a while of soothing and talking, he finally let us to dress his wound and the situation was settled. Reflection What I was trying to achieve through this was a calm situation achieved through my leadership skills. Working in an elderly home one would easily learn that a quiet environment is necessary and as the situation was getting quite noisy and hectic I felt the need to calm down the patient as well ad the nurse. Since I was part of the team I could not stand aside and watch the situation grow tenser and I had to get involved. Reason for actions The reason I acted the way I did was because, we had been taught on how to approach a similar situation and since I saw one of my team members was having a hard time I felt the need to act. The nurse looked frustrated and the patient was getting more anxious and furious thus acted immediately to stop the situation from getting out of hand. By helping the situation the patient got much calmer and felt at ease. I on the other hand felt I had achieved something great and the fact that I was able to handle a difficult situation encouraged me more. This was one of the cases where I was able to display my leadership skills effectively. Influencing factors The external factor that influenced my decision making was the environment. Homes for the elderly are usually calm and quiet to keep them relaxed and at ease and since the confrontation was getting louder I had to intervene quickly. Internal factors that might have influenced my decision making was working as a team, I saw the nurse was feeling hopeless with the situation and had lost all patience therefore, felt it convenient to help out. Learning This experience has highlighted to me the fact that patience is not n easy factor or aspect and that I should be able to exercise it at all times especially when I am dealing with patients. This experience has helped me deal with similar issues appropriately and easily making my work much easier. Reference List Allsop, J. , & Saks, M. (2007). Researching health: qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods. London: Sage. Arlene, H. , et.al. (2004). Physician-Nurse Collaboration in Research in the 21st Century, Journal of Clinical Oncology. 22(5), 774- 776. Retrieved from http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/content/full/22/5/774 Brown, B. (2008). Blurred roles and permeable boundaries: the experience of multidisciplinary working in community mental health, InterScience. 8(6), 425- 435. Retrieved from http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121443484/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY =0 Changer, P. (2004). Collaborative nursing research—advantages and obstacles, Science Direct. 25(4), 295- 300. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T7T-4C00KYM- 2T&_user=10&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F1988&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_ sort=d Dyer, J. (2003). Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary educational models and nursing education. Retrieved May 27, 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb3317/is_4_24/ai_n29019726/ Finkelman, A. , & Keller, C. (2010). Professional Nursing Concepts: Competencies for Quality Leadership. Canada: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Hemminki, E. (1989). Problems of Multidisciplinary Research in Health Care - the Case of Birth Services, Sage. 32(3), 253- 260. Retrieved from http://asj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/32/3/253 Holloway, I. (1997). Basic concepts for qualitative research. London: Blackwell Science Ltd. Jenkins, V. (2001). Are members of multidisciplinary teams in breast cancer aware of each other's informational roles? Quality Health Care. 10, 70- 75. Retrieved from http://qshc.bmj.com/content/10/2/70.full Kings, M. , & Roberts, M. (2004). Multidisciplinary case conference reviews: improving outcomes for nursing home residents, cares and health professionals, Pharmacy World & Science. 23(2), 41- 45. Retrieved from http://www.springerlink.com/content/w06721v32n03652w/ Mitchell, P. (2007). What's in a name? multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary, Journal of Professional Nursing. 21(6), 332- 334. Retrieved from http://www.professionalnursing.org/article/S8755-7223%2805%2900148-1/abstract Nolan, M. (1995). Towards an ethos of interdisciplinary practice, BMJ. 311, 305- 307. Retrieved from http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/311/7000/305 Pearson, A. (2003). Multidisciplinary nursing: re-thinking role boundaries, Journal of Clinical Nursing. 12(5), 625- 629. Retrieved from http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/jcn/2003/00000012/00000005/art00003 Wakefield, A. , et.al. (2008). The potential advantages and disadvantages of introducing interprofessional education into the healthcare curricula in Spain, Journal of Medicine. 28(3), 327- 336. Retrieved from http://www.nurseeducationtoday.com/article/S0260- 6917%2807%2900091-3/abstract Read More