Collaboration and Leadership Reflection
Reflection on Interprofessional Collaboration Experience
Hi, my name is Claudia Cifuentes, and I am a registered nurse at a hospital. I’ll describe inter-professional communication and provide an example from my own life. When communication and interaction between people from different disciplines are improved for better service delivery, this is referred to as inter-professional collaboration. This type of teamwork is also important in the healthcare field. To eliminate medical errors and improve patient care, a partnership between nurses, physicians, patients, healthcare personnel, patient’s relatives, and social workers is organized.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration Experience
I saw several examples of interdisciplinary teamwork throughout my hospital rotation. I saw how diverse professions working together could bring service delivery together. Last year, the hospital had to deal with an emergency due to an increase in COVID -19 instances. Many of the patients were in critical condition when they were admitted. Our nurse leader convened a meeting at the time, at which stakeholders from many disciplines were invited. Doctors, pharmacists, patients, social workers, media representatives, government officials, and healthcare personnel were among those present. In that discussion, all of the participants discussed various options for dealing with the emergency.
Finally, a strategy was devised, and employees were assigned tasks based on their areas of expertise. Doctors were told to stay on duty for long periods of time; pharmacists were told to ensure that necessary medicines were available; media representatives were told to share accurate information; social workers were told to bring patients on time; healthcare workers were told to provide efficient patient care; and government officials were told to ensure that necessary funds were allocated. Despite the fact that it took time to recover from the pandemic’s grave state. Better interdisciplinary teamwork in the healthcare department, on the other hand, significantly reduced the death rate. As a result, the number of COVID cases began to decline, and the hospital’s workload returned to normal. The values of teamwork, trust, respect, and community service that were ingrained in all of the participants from various backgrounds made this interdisciplinary approach successful. However, implementing preventative care practices into this collaboration could improve it even further (Bursiek et al.,2017). If correct SOPs were properly followed in advance, this problem may be handled better. At the time, visionary leadership with a strategy was lacking, which may have improved collaboration in the early hours of need.
Adverse Effects of Poor Collaboration on Human and Financial Resources
Poor teamwork can have negative consequences for both human and financial resources. Poor teamwork between medical personnel, physicians, and patients can lead to issues in patient care in this area. Patients’ medical histories cannot be conveyed to the required staff without participation. In severe situations, it can lead to serious sickness and even death. If the healthcare department does not address the patient’s problems in a timely manner, it might lead to mental disorders and frustration. Furthermore, a lack of coordination can lead to patient readmissions, which is a waste of time and money (Huang et al., 2018). Simultaneously, this lack of collaboration between medical representatives and government officials may result in a poor distribution of funding for the healthcare department, impeding the provision of equitable healthcare.
Best Practiced Leadership Strategies for Interdisciplinary Collaboration
To increase interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare, a variety of leadership tactics are employed. Integrated care is one of the most essential solutions in this regard. Patients receive proper care in the appropriate setting and manner under this technique. The foundation of this strategy is teamwork, which is at the heart of interdisciplinary collaboration. Shared decision-making is another essential method. The goal of this technique is to improve the doctor-patient collaboration. They come to mutual decisions about how to achieve their objectives. Furthermore, the internal transparency policy ensures successful interdisciplinary collaboration. This technique focuses on multiple stakeholders sharing plans, strategies, and ideas in order to analyze the costs and performance of medical treatment (Zubkoff et al., 2018).
Best Strategies for Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Different tactics are used to achieve interdisciplinary collaboration. The first and most important tactic in this situation is to encourage social connection. It focuses on putting on events that allow people from many fields to interact with one another. It bridges the gap between them and pulls them closer together. Rewarding and recognizing interdisciplinary teamwork is another technique. People with good communication skills and a sense of teamwork are rewarded for their efforts in this method. It improves the organization’s efficiency and facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration. In order to increase interdisciplinary collaboration, several team-building activities are also planned. Some tournaments, for example, bring together people from various backgrounds to form a single team. It strengthens their bond and ensures the success of their interdisciplinary teamwork (Zubkoff et al., 2018).
References
Bursiek, A. A., Hopkins, M. R., Breitkopf, D. M., Grubbs, P. L., Joswiak, M. E., Klipfel, J. M., & Johnson, K. M. (2017). Use of high-fidelity simulation to enhance interdisciplinary collaboration and Reduce Patient Falls. Journal of Patient Safety, 16(3), 245–250. https://doi.org/10.1097/pts.0000000000000277
Huang, L., Turner, J., & Brandt, N. J. (2018). Interdisciplinary collaboration in medication-related fall prevention in older adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 44(4), 11–15. https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20180313-04
Zubkoff, L., Neily, J., Quigley, P., Delanko, V., Young-Xu, Y., Boar, S., & Mills, P. D. (2018). Preventing falls and fall-related injuries in state Veterans Homes. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 33(4), 334–340. https://doi.org/10.1097/ncq.0000000000000309
