MSN Essential VII: Interprofessional Collaboration For Improving Patient And Population Health Outcomes

Reflect back over the past eight weeks and describe how the achievement of the course outcomes in this course have prepared you to meet the MSN program outcome #1, the MSN Essential VII, and the Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies # 8.

Program Outcome #1: Provide high quality, safe, patient-centered care grounded in holistic health principles. (holistic health & patient-centered care)

Recognizes that the master’s-prepared nurse, as a member and leader of interprofessional teams, communicates, collaborates, and consults with other health professionals to manage and coordinate care.

Nurse Practitioner Core Competencies

# 8 Ethics Competencies

● Integrates ethical principles in decision making.

● Evaluates the ethical consequences of decisions.

● Applies ethically sound solutions to complex issues related to individuals, populations and systems of care.

Interprofessional Collaboration Essay

 Interprofessional collaboration and education is important in health care, and has the goals of increasing positive patient outcomes and satisfaction, improving the health of the population, reducing health care costs, and increasing job satisfaction of health care professionals (Ash & Miller, 2016; Vega & Bernard, 2016). Interprofessional collaboration is a process in which all members of the health care team contribute and integrate their strengths, knowledge, and experiences into the partnership, with the shared goal of improving health outcomes (Ash & Miller, 2016).

Interprofessional teams can include members of various health care disciplines, such as physicians, nurses, advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), respiratory therapists, social workers, physical/occupational therapists, and case managers, to name a few. Those who are needed to coordinate and optimize the care of patients and improve system outcomes should be included in the team, as each profession can bring strengths to the process.

While physicians are traditionally seen as the leader of the healthcare team, APRNs can assume the role of team leader in interprofessional collaboration, as they are equipped with the knowledge and training in health and science, “but also because of their comprehension of organizational and systems improvements, outcome evaluation processes, health care policy, and leadership (Ashe & Miller, 2016, p. 127). Team members should act with respect and trust, openness, and shared responsibility and decision-making when working toward the same goal (Ash & Miller, 2016).

While the idea of interprofessional collaboration has been proven to be successful, the creation of such teams is still not as common as it should be (Naylor, 2011). There are barriers to establishing collaboration, such as the culture of health care, reimbursement, and a lack of knowledge of the scope and role of each contributing profession (Ash & Miller, 2016; Vega &

Bernard, 2016). The traditional culture of health care is a hierarchy of professions that work independently, thereby dampening coordination of care (Vega & Bernard, 2016). Changing culture can be difficult, but proper education and training of all health care professionals in creating collaborative partnerships can help.

There are several ways to encourage and promote interprofessional collaboration. One major driver in establishing partnerships is effective communication, which improves teamwork, and thus, reduces errors and improves patient outcomes (Vega & Bernard, 2016). One technique of effective communication commonly used in the health care setting is SBAR, or Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2016). It is a technique that offers a concise but complete communication about a problem to foster timely intervention.

Another way to improve interprofessional collaboration is to incorporate leadership models during interprofessional education, such as the Lean Model, into interprofessional education. The philosophy of the Lean method is to reduce waste (wait times, etc.) in order to provide the most value for patients (Lawal et al., 2014). The Lean Model is one of continuous change and improvement that empowers and holds responsible every team member to contribute in problem-solving and decision-making (Wojciechowski, Pearsall, Murphy, & French, 2016). While this model is typically utilized in the manufacturing industry, it holds promise for use in the health care sector in establishing interprofessional collaboration and education (Wojciechowski, Pearsall, Murphy, & French, 2016).

References

● Ash, L. & Miller, C. (2016). Interprofessional collaboration for improving patient and population health. In S. M. DeNisco & A. M. Barker, Advanced practice nursing:

Essential knowledge for the profession (3rd ed., pp. 123-151). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

● Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2016). SBAR toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.ihi.org/resources/pages/tools/sbartoolkit.aspx

● Lawal, A. K., Rotter, T., Kinsman, L., Sari, N., Harrison, L., Jeffery, C., … Flynn, R. (2014). Lean management in health care: definition, concepts, methodology and effects reported (systematic review protocol). Systematic Reviews, 3, 103. http://doi.org/10.1186/2046-4053-3-103

● Naylor, M. D. (2011). Viewpoint: Interprofessional collaboration and the future of health care. Retrieved from

https://www.americannursetoday.com/viewpoint-interprofessional-collaboration-and-the-f uture-of-health-care/

● Vega, C. P. & Bernard, V. (2016). Interprofessional collaboration to improve health care: An introduction. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/857823

● Wojciechowski, E., Pearsall, T., Murphy, P., & French, E. (2016). A case review: Integrating Lewin’s theory with Lean’s system approach for change. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 21(2). Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJI N/TableofContents/Vol-21-2016/No2-May-2016/Integrating-Lewins-Theory-with-Leans-S ystem-Approach.html

Interprofessional Collaboration Example 2

Interprofessional collaboration is an essential element of patient care and has been supported owing to the benefits it brings. It is specialized team-based care offered by professionals from different disciplines who actively work together to provide patient-centered care to improve patient outcomes (Busari et al., 2017). 

In addition, it is highly coordinated with essential communication, use of technology to ensure quick information sharing, and fosters respect between health care providers as everyone is given equal opportunity to contribute towards patient care. Furthermore, interprofessional collaboration is vital to increasing patient safety, enhancing high-quality care, and reducing medical errors as various professionals use their skills and knowledge collectively to coordinate care.

Different healthcare providers taking care of the patient view the patient’s concerns, recognize different symptoms, and come up with different treatment possibilities that result in high-quality care (Reeves et al., 2017). In addition, constant communication between interprofessional through electronic health records ensures that all team members understand patient situations, thus improving patient safety. Treatment is also started in time aided by coordinated care leading to better outcomes, enhanced patient experience, reduction of hospital stays, and reduced cost of care.

Medical errors are also reduced due to essential clinical communications between professionals. Clear information between professionals ensures that nurses receive all the necessary information and instructions regarding patient care enabling them to provide appropriate treatments. Furthermore, collaboration improves staff relationships, leading to safe and focused care. Finally, care is also optimized, dosages calculated appropriately, and seeking pharmacists` opinions also reduces medical errors.

An example of an emerging trend that changes the nature of interpersonal collaboration is the use of social media. Social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp, have enabled interaction between professionals from different places who may not meet face-to-face due to limited time and space. Professionals can communicate, teach each other, develop treatment strategies, and execute orders aimed at improving patient outcomes.

References

● Busari, J. O., Moll, F. M., & Duits, A. J. (2017). Understanding the impact of interprofessional collaboration on the quality of care: a case report from a small-scale resource-limited health care environment. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, 10, 227–234. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S140042

● Reeves, S., Pelone, F., Harrison, R., Goldman, J, & Zwarenstein, M. (2017).

Interprofessional collaboration to improve professional practice and healthcare outcomes. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 6(8), CD000072. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD000072.pub3