Interprofessional collaborative practice in health care entails health professionals combining their efforts and skills to help in providing quality health care services. This practice has become very popular in the recent past. Research indicates that the incorporation of patient preferences leads to higher value health care. Value also increases when patients, their families,and society become responsible for factors that influence health. In may 2011, the Interprofessional Education Collaboration developed core competencies and principles that are ideal in collaborative interprofessional practice in health care (Logan & Siegel, 2017). One of the values of this practice is ensuring that individuals of all professions maintain a climate of mutual respect and shared values. This is ideal in ensuring that health professionals combine their knowledge and experience towards providing high-quality health care. The other principles of the practice are teamwork and communication.
Interprofessional collaborative practice will optimize Ms. Jones recovery both presently and in future because of a variety of reasons. One of the reasons is that the knowledge of many health professionals such as nurses, orthopaedists, psychiatrist,and other medical specialists will be combined to help the patient recover quickly (Shachak, Borycki & Reis, 2017). A specialist physician will carry out an examination to determine whether or not Jones has any broken joints or bones. Upon carrying out tests, it was discovered that Ms. Jones suffered a punctured lung. A pulmonologist will offer professional advice and treatment to Ms. Jones to help heal her lungs and other parts of the respiratory system that could have been affected (Kabene & Pate et al. 2011). The pulmonologist will examine the patient even after full recovery to ensure that the illness does not recur. The medical examination also established that Ms. Jones was pregnant at the time the accident occurred. The doctors found that the baby was not harmed by accident. A specialist in reproductive health will be involved in taking care of Ms. Jones since they will provide valuable guidance concerning whether Ms. Jones should undergo surgery or not. Ms. Jones has benefited from interprofessional collaborative practice since a neurologist was involved in her treatment. He carried out a medical examination on her and established that the patient did not suffer any injury in the backbone or the nervous system. Ms Jones is likely to be affected psychological by the news of losing her husband. The fact that her unborn child is in danger could also put additional psychological stress on the patient. A psychiatrist will assist the patient presently and during the treatment through counselling.
This practice also encourages effective communication among the various medical professionals involved in caring for the patient. Communication between the professionals and the family is also enhanced and hence contributing to the increased value of health services offered (Royeen, Jensen & Harvan, 2009). For example in the case of Ms. Jones, effective communication between professionals has ensured that all precautions are taken before proceeding with the surgery. Communication with the family and the patient was effective and that why Ms. Jones mother arrived at the facility on time. Ms. Jones was also given a chance to decide on her treatment after the specialist explained the scenario to her. This has therefore immensely contributed to improved quality of health care.
As a student registered nurse, I stand to gain a lot by participating in caring for a patient being treated using interprofessional collaborative practice. One of how I will benefit from caring for Ms. Jones is that I will develop interprofessional teamwork and learn interprofessional core competencies. Being involved in the treatment and care of Ms. Jones will provide me with an opportunity to learn the core competencies that are needed in interprofessional collaborative health care (Hinote & Wasserman, 2017). These core competencies include providing patient-centered care. This involves providing health care services that focus on the specific needs of the patient (Hays, 2017). This is very crucial in improving the quality of healthcare services since different patients have different needs and hence requiring special attention. The experience will prepare me in learning how to respect the preferences of a patient under my care.Ms Jones was given a chance to decide on which treatment method she preferred and the benefits and shortcomings of each method. She was hence able to make an informed decision on her health. This demonstrates adherence to values and ethics governing interprofessional collaborative health care. By understanding the patient-centered approach to medical care, I will be able to offer physical comfort to the patient under my care in the future. This will enable me to gain a lot of experience in caring for the patient when I start professional practice.
As a student taking care of Ms. Jones, I will understand critical Inter-professional values and ethics that are crucial in my future practice as a nurse. (Finkelman, 2018) The values and ethics are patients centered with a community-oriented approach. The values and ethics emphasize the importance of involving the family in caring for the patient. The experience will teach me the importance of teamwork in optimizing the quality of health care. I will gain important interpersonal skills that will help me to interact and communicate well with other medical professionals in the team. I will also use the opportunity to practice the theory learned in class, and hence this will prepare me adequately for my future practice as a nurse. I will improve my communication skills and understand the importance of involving the patient in making decisions involving their health.
As a student, I will also be able to learn on professionalism through the various professionals that I interact with on a daily basis. This will help me to conduct myself in a professional manner when a start practising as a registered nurse. This opportunity will also help me to learn and understand competences of shared problem solving, shared decision making and conflict resolution. This will prepare me adequately to work amicably with many professionals to attain a shared vision of high quality health care.
Reference List
- Finkelman, A. W. (2018). Professional nursing concepts: Competencies for quality leadership. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
- Hays, D. G. (2017). Developing multicultural counseling competence. Place of publication not identified: Pearson.
- Hinote, B. P., & Wasserman, J. A. (2017). Social and behavioral science for health professionals.
- Kabene, S. M., Pate, C. L., Leahy, N. M., Leos, L., Beil-Hildebrand, M. B., Wickramasinghe, N., Bidwell, P., ... Davis, E. (2011). Human resources in healthcare, health informatics,and healthcare systems. Hershey, PA: Medical Information Science Reference.
- In Logan, R. A., & In Siegel, E. R. (2017). Health literacy: New directions in research, theory,and practice.
- Royeen, C. B., Jensen, G. M., & Harvan, R. A. (2009). Leadership in interprofessional health education and practice. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
- In Shachak, A., In Borycki, E., & In Reis, S. P. (2017). Health professionals' education in the age of clinical information systems, mobile computing and social networks.