Interprofessional practice

Interprofessional practice

The interprofessional practice is a collaborative approach which occurs when healthcare provides collaborate with people from their profession, patients and families. When healthcare providers engage in interprofessional practice, they seek common goals and will efficiently work on any problems that arise. According to (Nester, 2016) Interprofessional practice can be seen as a partnership between a team of health providers who are much coordinated for decision making around several issues such as health and social issues. This collaboration enables easy communication and decision making rendering a synergistic influence of clustered knowledge and skills. Healthcare systems with effective interprofessional collaboration are characterized by factors such as responsibility, coordination, assertiveness, mutual trust and respect among its team. This team is designed to work on common goals towards improving patient outcomes and quality of healthcare provided. Some important attributes determine team effectiveness. These attributes include members seeing their role being much relevant to the team, equality share of resources, open communication and existence of autonomy. Poor interprofessional practise poses a threat to the quality of patient care. Mutual respect and collaboration is vital in any health sector and helps in building relationships, interdependencies and interconnections to manage complex problems.

In 2009, the American Nurses Association (ANA) introduced the interprofessional education collaborative. The education collaborative has dramatically contributed to effective interprofessional practice in healthcare. The American Nurse Association develops undiversified nursing scope and standards which apply to all nurses while emphasizing on collaborating with physicians, nurse colleagues and other health professionals to improve quality of care provided. The association understands that interprofessional practise comes along with much benefits such as reduced healthcare costs, improved relationships, fewer preventable errors and improved relationships with other disciplines. The American nurse association considers interprofessional practice as an essential practice in the work setting by encouraging interprofessional teams to optimize patient outcomes as well as demonstrating necessary teambuilding and collaborative process. Members of the American Nurse Association through Professional issues panel recently worked to barriers to the scope of practice. Insufficient interprofessional collaboration among healthcare staff from several disciplines was noted as a major problem affecting the quality of patient care in healthcare facilities. The association has offered a clear and strong case that strengthens collaborative roles among health workers. The recommendations, standards and policies set will enhance collaborative efforts and encourage innovative and evidence-based strategies.

In regards to Ms Tuckerno’s case, It would be better if collaborative approach was applied. This means clear communication between the team as well as shared roles. The nurse practitioner did not engage in any collaboration with the colleagues, which led to low-quality healthcare to the patient. If there was effective communication and shared roles in the health facility, MS. Tuckerno could have received the best care possible. When they are no effective communication, the patient health status us vulnerable to misinterpretation of information, overlooked changes, lack or misunderstanding critical information among many others (Reeves, 2017). The internist and the nurse practitioner had a weak collaboration which led to Ms Tuckerno receiving low-quality care. The best approach to this could be the nurse practitioner and the internist sharing information and deciding the best care for the patient, thus improving the quality of care offered to the patient. Interprofessional practise between nurses, physicians and other staff increases team knowledge, awareness and sharing of skills allowing efficient and improved decision making.

References

Nester, J. (2016). The Importance of Interprofessional Practice and Education in the Era of Accountable Care. Retrieved 14 March 2020, from http://www.ncmedicaljournal.com/content/77/2/128.full

Reeves, S. (2017). Interprofessional collaboration to improve professional practise and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (6).