Essay Sample on Inter-Professional Education: Enhancing Patient Care Through Team Collaboration

Introduction

The delivery of high-quality and effective patient care is a multifaceted activity that requires both social and health care professional collaboration; thus, Inter-Professional Education (IPE) is a fundamental concept that a team of healthcare professionals uses to deliver efficient and effective care patients in the clinical environment (Chang & Daly, 2016). The reflection is based on a specific experience of inter-professional working environment that was encountered in the nursing practice and critically explored, analyzes, and evaluates how Inter-Professional Education and a collaborative team fostered patient’s wellbeing. The reflection will ensure that the confidentiality principles are maintained as per the Nursing and Midwifery Code and that all the names of people are changed for the benefit of privacy. The paper intends to use the Gibbs’ reflective cycle model in providing proper direction for the work. The model is a theory based on the reflective cycle that encompasses six elements including a description of the situation, feelings encountered during the practice, evaluation of the experience, and analysis of the events, and conclusion that also involves action plan for the future occurrence of a similar situation as well as discussing the role of nurses within the Inter-Professional Education team.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Description

Inter-Professional Education is a situation where students from social and health care professions learn together during their professional training to gain a collaborative practice to offer patient-centered care. The description is the first stage of the Gibbs’ reflective cycle model; the patient is introduced, including relevant history (Daly et al., 2015). The patient was a 50-year-old woman who I provided care for around five weeks. The woman by the name Mrs. A was admitted to the emergency department as she was complaining of a middle frontal headache, painful ears, and weakness on the right side that might have been caused by accident. But after proper investigation, she was found to be having numerous brain metastases, and she was transferred to the oncology ward where she passed through palliative radiotherapy (Logan, 2016). Mrs. A was referred to the team of Occupational Therapists (OT) and Physiotherapists because it was found that she suffered a right-sided weakness leading to unsteadiness and loss of confidence (Waite & Nardi, 2019). A team of physiotherapists assessed her and provided a suitable medication plan that could help the woman balance, move, and strengthen her bones. The OT team introduced daily tasks and offered education on how the woman could finish such activities. The team also assessed her home before discharging her from the hospital.

Feelings

The second stage of the model focuses on my feelings during the care that I provided to Mrs. A as a nurse in her journey to recovery, including my role within the inter-professional team and my feelings underpinning the collaborative work performed by the team towards enhancing the wellbeing of the patient (Thompson et al., 2016). In helping Mrs. A recover and get discharged from the hospital, proper coordination and patient-centered teamwork were initiated among the healthcare professionals. I felt a sense of teamwork and group identity towards saving the life of a patient. We all believed that working collaboratively as a team was more fundamental to the life of a patient rather than working as an individual (Saylor & Graber, 2016). In that collaborative work, I felt valued as a nursing student who was training for better nursing care in my future career. I played a critical role in communication and coordination, and I realized that other team members were using nurses as their center for all the information underpinning patient’s journey.

I think it was through proper communication and good relationship with the nurses that helped in identifying what Mrs. A was suffering from and what she required; hence, nurses have a competitive advantage over the other team in understanding the need of a patient (Anderson, 2018). As a nurse coordinator, I was Mrs. A’s advocate. I took the responsibility with a lot of commitment and realized that the patient trusted me.

Evaluation

Based on the evaluation, communication plays a significant role in Inter-professional Education settings. According to the benchmarks for a suitable practice in communication that focuses on the vitality of ensuring that nurses offer effective communication, which is critical to the patient’s needs (Franz et al., 2018). Notably, effective collaboration and proper communication were demonstrated in the entire participation among the interprofessional team, which was triggered by frequent and clear documentation of care to the patient in her treatment notes (Mikaelian & Stanley, 2016). Such treatment notes are the plans in which the doctor communicates among themselves and implements collaborative tasks for bettering the patient (Cunningham et al., 2016). Therefore, it was more imperative to document all that was happening for Mrs. A because that would enhance high-quality care for her.

To promote inter-professional working and proper care for the patient, a multidisciplinary team organized a meeting in which I was among them (Levesque et al., 2018). The team comprehensively discussed her treatment and care without fearing because patient involvement in the health care decision usually leads to high-quality care. The team used face-to-face communication, and an immediate response promoted understanding and group communication efficacy (Wilkes et al., 2016). Notably, when professionals communicate well among themselves, they can communicate effectively with patients and their families (Wieczorek et al., 2016). The meeting involves people like the ward clerk, the PCT consultant, and other members, including the OT team, doctors, counselors, nurses, and physiotherapists.

Analysis

In the case of the old woman, I realized a delay concerning her discharge because we waited longer to see a care package being conducted. The process was frustrating for the entire team because we all worked collaboratively to ensure faster and effective discharge for the patient. Based on the analysis of what went wrong, I suggest that the delay occurred due to several reasons, including the absence of the social work team in the meeting and regular leave that was provided to many workers causing a shortage at the hospital (Nicholas & Breakey, 2017). Similarly, the lack of enough line communication for perpetual collaborative teamwork, especially where immediate response is important, can lead to delayed discharge and poor care for the patient. Barriers to inter-professional collaboration include improper understanding among members and lack of work priorities within the hospital setting.

For professionals, the knowledge and skills for the understanding of roles are critical for appreciating the environment in which professionals perform their duties (Lee & Kim, 2016). It assists in identifying goals and objectives as well as helping to develop proper approaches for collaborative working. Teamwork is fundamental because it helps in averting misunderstanding among professionals. Understandably, inadequate clarity concerning the scope of duties and responsibilities as per the roles performed by the different members of the team causes conflict among the professionals.

Conclusion

It is worth noting that the significant role played and the contributions which are made by the nurses are critical within the inter-professional teamwork. Nurses assist in continuous communication and coordination within the professional team; therefore, proper communication skills helps ensure high-quality care for patients. Teamwork has allowed me to understand other roles within the nursing profession and how the diversity in their code of conduct can impact on teamwork. Also, it is critical to understand that decision making regarding patient care is a combination of a nurse’s role and affects the care and action of other members of the team. Concerning future practice, the delayed discharge and general experience on Mrs. A made me realize that challenges are usually encountered, and inter-professional teamwork is among the best approach to overcome such challenges. Therefore, I am prepared to perform effectively within a team.

References

Anderson, C. (2018). Exploring the role of advanced nurse practitioners in leadership. Nursing Standard.

Chang, E., & Daly, J. (2016). Transitions in nursing: Preparing for professional practice (4th ed.). Chatswood: Elsevier.

Cunningham, D. E., Ferguson, J., Wakeling, J., Zlotos, L., & Power, A. (2016). GP and pharmacist inter-professional learning–a grounded theory study. Education for Primary Care, 27(3), 188-195.

Daly, J., Speedy, S. & Jackson, J. (2015). Leadership & Nursing: Contemporary Perspectives (2nd ed.). Chatswood: Elsevier.

Franz, S., Muser, J., Thielhorn, U., Wallesch, C. W., & Behrens, J. (2018). Inter-professional communication and interaction in the neurological rehabilitation team: a literature review. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1-9.

Lee, S. Y., & Kim, Y. Y. (2016). The effects of self-efficacy and self-directed learning readiness to self-leadership of nursing student. Journal of Digital Convergence, 14(3), 309-318.

Levesque, J. F., Harris, M. F., Scott, C., Crabtree, B., Miller, W., Halma, L. M., ... & Russell, G. (2018). Dimensions and intensity of inter-professional teamwork in primary care: evidence from five international jurisdictions. Family practice, 35(3), 285-294.

Logan, T. R. (2016). Influence of teamwork behaviors on workplace incivility as it applies to nurses. Creighton Journal of Interdisciplinary Leadership, 2(1), 47-53.

Mikaelian, B., & Stanley, D. (2016). Incivility in nursing: From roots to repair. Journal of Nursing Management.

Nicholas, P. K., & Breakey, S. (2017). Climate change, climate justice, and environmental health: Implications for the nursing profession. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 49(6), 606-616.

Saylor, J., & Graber, J. (2016). Influence Through Lifelong Learning: Membership Engagement Advances the Nursing Profession.

Thompson, B. M., Bratzler, D. W., Fisher, M. J., Torres, A., Faculty, E. P. I. C., & Sparks, R. A. (2016). Working together: using a unique approach to evaluate an interactive and clinic-based longitudinal interprofessional education experience with 13 professions. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 30(6), 754-761.

Waite, R., & Nardi, D. (2019). Nursing colonialism in America: Implications for nursing leadership. Journal of Professional Nursing, 35(1), 18-25.

Wieczorek, C. C., Marent, B., Dorner, T. E., & Dür, W. (2016). The struggle for inter-professional teamwork and collaboration in maternity care: Austrian health professionals’ perspectives on the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. BMC health services research, 16(1), 91.

Wilkes, L., Doull, M., Paterson, J., Le Cornu, K., & Chok, H. N. (2016). The role of the general practice liaison nurse as integrated care coordinator: A delphi study. Clin Nurs Stud, 4(3), 67-77.