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Interprofessional Working

The document discusses interprofessional working in healthcare. It describes how quality of care depends on effective collaboration between different professionals. Governments have stressed the need for interprofessional teams to provide integrated, patient-centered care. While interprofessional education aims to introduce collaborative working, full implementation faces barriers like professional silos and role protectionism that can inhibit information sharing and team effectiveness. More support and training is still needed for interprofessional approaches to realize their potential for improving patient outcomes.

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Marie Cox
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3K views

Interprofessional Working

The document discusses interprofessional working in healthcare. It describes how quality of care depends on effective collaboration between different professionals. Governments have stressed the need for interprofessional teams to provide integrated, patient-centered care. While interprofessional education aims to introduce collaborative working, full implementation faces barriers like professional silos and role protectionism that can inhibit information sharing and team effectiveness. More support and training is still needed for interprofessional approaches to realize their potential for improving patient outcomes.

Uploaded by

Marie Cox
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Interprofessional working:

Quality of service depends on how effectively different professionals work together (Barrett
et al, 2005).

Health strategy (DOH, 2001). To provide integrated continuous, high-quality services.


Professionals need to work closely with each other in a structured way, through formal or
informal teams. An inter-disciplinary approach extends the range of skills available to
patients improves the deployment of scarce professional skills and provides greater continuity
of care for patients.

ABA requirements for nursing education (2000) midwifery post reg (2005) children’s nursing
(2007) requires the nurse to collaborate with all members of the health care team, directed
towards decision making concerning clients. The nurse must facilitate co-ordination of care
by working closely with all members of the team.

Recently governments worldwide have stressed the need for interprofessional working,
Making a Difference (British DOH, 1999), Romanor Report (Canadian DOH, 2002). state
that our health system must move from one in which a multitude of participants, work alone
focusing primarily on managing illness, to one in which they work collaboratively to deliver
quality effective care to patients. Professionals working in collaboration provide care which
is designed to meet the needs of patients.

The aim is to create a service designed around patients needs, encouraging professionals to
work together to meet the needs of patients. This shift in attitude where the medical
predominantly male profession had a stronger voice, to the underprivileged nursing
profession, where nurses appeared as doctors handmaidens, working around doctors rather
than with them to improve patient care.

In Britain the NHS plan (DOH, 2000) introduced the involvement of interprofessional
education within healthcare. Following this, there has been continuing commitment to
developing and introducing common learning programmes in healthcare. Schein (1972)

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believes that education of health professionals should be mixed in order for professionals to
obtain new blends of knowledge and skills.

McCalley and Silvermann (1977) suggest four methods for achieving interprofessional
education.

1) Mixing students of various disciplines in the same course


2) Mixing students in clinical setting, particularly as members of the healthcare team.
3) Establishing a course dealing with interprofessional issues.
4) Bringing together students and administrators of differing schools and disciplines in
planning of joint activities.

Undergraduate education in the U.K. and the U.S. now incorporates interprofessional
modules in an attempt to introduce students to the concept of accepting interprofessional
working and promote understanding of roles within healthcare. It is thought that this
understanding encourages a team approach to patient needs where information and
knowledge is shared to enable improved decision making regarding patient care (Spry, 2006).

Interprofessional education is not widespread. Some universities choose not to incorporate


interprofessional education. Not all healthcare professionals are involved in interprofessional
education.

Barr (2004) interprofessional working enables professional benefits, with reference to sharing
of knowledge and the opportunities to experience areas of work outside one’s own remit. It is
suggested that professionals may have levels of improved job satisfaction and increased
levels of confidence in dealing with difficult situations. Research limited on whether it
improves patient care. More research is required on this topic.

McWilliams et al, (2003) argue that interprofessional working is challenging in the


workplace and is not an easy concept to adopt. They also believe interprofessional is not
being delivered to patients due to healthcare professionals misunderstanding policies,
education and research relating to interprofessional working. This may be due to a lack of
support and training from managers. Managers should involve staff within changes in
practice and this will facilitate co-operation (Deegan et al, 2004).

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When a person seeks hospital care, they will interact with more than one healthcare
professional. The number of professionals involved and the importance of their ability to
work collaboratively increases with the complexity of the patients needs. New initiatives to
improve management of diseases such as asthma and diabetes invariably points to the need
for a more collaborative approach (Iah and Richards, 1998).

With this collaborative approach, the needs of patient care are central to service provision and
delivery. However within interprofessional care there exists a degree of professional
stereotyping that is detrimentral to delivery of care (Mandy et al, 2004).

If team members are reluctant to work together and share knowledge then the
interprofessional team will be ineffective in practice (Bailey, 2004). This can occur if there
has been no education or training on interprofessional working, or those who are new to the
concept of interprofessional working. As they can lack the skills to understand the benefits of
the interdisciplinary team, along with the ability to implement the change from the
multidisciplinary team to the interdisciplinary team this resistance can manifest from the fear
of losing power and control by which the healthcare profession already has.

Nurses have experienced difficulties in adopting interprofessional working in practice and in


changing practice; some nurses have actively resisted this reform. Kenny (2002) testifies that
new ways of working may identify the need for new skills, knowledge and understanding.
Change does not mean nurses contribution to healthcare will lessen. It suggests
interprofessional collaboration could enhance professional development in nursing.

Role overlap exists in interprfessional working, however role protection is considered a


barrier to interprofessional working (Nancarrow, 2004). Nancarrow, (2004) found nurses
were highly protective of their role in intermediate care and believed that it was the nurses
role to take responsibility for the management of the patients needs and not the other
healthcare professionals in the team.

Moving hospital care into communities and improving community services means
interprofessional working is of paramount importance.

Barriers: teams not sharing information. Increased levels of communication are needed to
enhance team interactions (Freeman et al, 2000).

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