Starbucks comes to mind when I think about efficiency. I know my hot, tall mocha latte with almond milk and no whip will be exactly that every time I want it. Now, that is just one drink combination out of many, but as a customer, I want Starbucks in Dallas or Atlanta to get it right. They have a framework in place that allows the team to communicate, collaborate, document, and evaluate each other on a regular basis. Starbucks is noted for its best practices in the preparation and presentation of coffee drinks as a result of this.
If you are a nurse, you’ve likely come across a number of questions about how to improve your interprofessional communication. Whether you’re new to the field or have been practicing for years, there are some common mistakes you can make. Here’s how to improve your interprofessional communication and become a more effective nurse. This will help you be more effective in your job and will help you build your career as a nurse.
What Is the Importance of Interprofessional Communication?
Communication failures were found to be a significant factor in 27% of medical malpractice lawsuits, according to Nurse Attorney Michelle Swift, and good interprofessional communication was found to improve care, reduce medical errors, and injuries. When it comes to collaborative care, nurse practitioners are not immune to malpractice cases. We’ve all heard the storey of a patient who was seen by both the doctor and the nurse practitioner yet died as a result of communication breakdowns. Because of the fragmentation of language required to transmit critical information in a short amount of time, the formula for communication in healthcare can be complicated.
Similarly, there are numerous moving elements in the healthcare system. Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is a proactive method to ensuring patients’ efficient utilisation of the healthcare system. It involves two or more health professionals from various disciplines working together. IPC, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), fosters communication, lowers healthcare costs, stimulates healthcare innovation, and improves patient outcomes. When IPC skills are an essential obligation of these healthcare team members as leaders, however, there is little to no discussion about how to manage IPC in nursing, NP, or PA school.
How to Improve Interprofessional Communication?
First, make sure you understand the concepts involved in interprofessional communication. Then, you can find ways to practice them in a clinical environment. A good way to improve your interpersonal skills is by practicing with a team. For example, if you’re in charge of a patient and want to share information with them, you can have your patients sit with them and ask them questions. It can also be helpful to include an open-ended question that asks if the two sides agree or disagree.
If you’re a nurse, you need to communicate with your colleagues effectively. This may be difficult for you, but it can help you improve your communication and patient care. For example, you can ask your students to write a note in their time record if they are late or absent. You can also write a comment to let the DCE know about your student’s tardiness.
Interprofessional communication education can help you develop the necessary skills to work with others. The Team STEPPS curriculum helps students learn to communicate in teams with each other. The SBAR tool is an excellent tool to learn these skills. It’s easy to implement in a clinical setting, and you’ll soon see the benefits. This is a great way to make a positive impact on the lives of patients.
How to Improve Interprofessional Communication in Healthcare?
We found that it is crucial to improve interprofessional communication among healthcare professionals. Fortunately, there are many ways to do this. The best way is to learn from the best and make mistakes that are not so important. It’s important to recognize your strengths and weaknesses and to use them as opportunities to improve your interpersonal relationships with your coworkers. Once you’ve learned how to effectively communicate with your co-workers, you’ll be a better practitioner in no time.
If you’re a nurse, how would you like to improve your interprofessional relationship? During your internship, you’ll be asked to work with different people from different fields. If you’re a nurse, you can learn more about effective communication techniques and how to improve your communication with other health professionals. During the interview, you can also discuss your career goals with your coworkers.
In the final survey, we found that the DCE helped students formulate better questions and improve their communication. The faculty also noted that the DCE increased students’ appreciation for the practice they were studying and that the interviews that they conducted were more complicated than expected. In addition, continued use of the VP had an adverse effect on student satisfaction with the course. It also decreased students’ actual performance of skills during the lab.
IPE was a highly beneficial experience for students and faculty. It helped students develop better questions and gain a better understanding of the practice. It also helped faculty see how students’ interviews differ from the ones they expected. The DCE’s interactive learning environment also made it easier to learn how to communicate with patients who are not familiar with medical terminology. This makes the DCE a valuable tool for clinical teams.
The interprofessional communication education program included nine modules and was designed to improve student learning. The curriculum included a role-play and an SBAR communication tool. The open text questions allowed students to comment on the course and discuss its positive and negative aspects. The students’ narratives were analyzed by using conventional content analysis. They were able to express their opinions through a series of focus groups and interviews.
What Are the Steps to Improve Interprofessional Communication?
Determine who the essential members of the care team are:
Communication begins at the time where patient care begins, involves several players, and continues until the care is completed. The participants involved are determined by a variety of circumstances, including the facility, specialty, and acuity of the patient getting care. A collaborative or supervisory physician, nurse practitioner, specialist, pharmacist, registered nurse, medical assistant, receptionist, and the patient-family unit may be part of the interprofessional team for primary care. In acute care, however, a care coordinator may be required because patients in this context may require more players. Leaders are urged to get to know each participant and how their expertise and talents integrate into the patient’s treatment, despite the fact that none of them is a registered health practitioner.
Make use of the appropriate communication tool:
The electronic medical record (EMR) and the care pathway, for example, capture and guide the team’s communication. The EMR is used by the team to document and track the progress of patients, as well as prescriptions, treatments, and referrals. It also promotes openness and houses care paths for better coordination. The terms “care pathway” and “guidelines” have been used interchangeably. The health professionals and services that support and manage patients’ care are listed in care pathways. However, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) recommends that doctors use clinical guidelines to help them make decisions about whether to confirm a diagnosis, which medications to use to treat it, and whether to transfer a patient to a specialist or emergency services.
Make it clear what kind of care you’re looking for:
Any discipline requires clear, succinct, and continuous communication. For example, the Starbucks method ensures that the barista understands the sort of drink before it is prepared. Similarly, before the patient’s care begins, the team should be clear on the diagnosis and treatment plan. As a result, new players should be introduced to care pathways to avoid pathway gaps when personnel changes. Scheduled meetings are also recommended to discuss information on the patient’s progress and needs in order to apply suitable interventions. The information given is more significant than the frequency of meetings in ensuring continuity of care.
Make sure you’re clear on the level of care you’ll be providing:
Any discipline necessitates clear, succinct, and continuous communication. For example, before a drink is created, the Starbucks system ensures that the barista is aware of the sort of drink. Similarly, before the patient’s care begins, the team should agree on the diagnosis and treatment strategy. As a result, new participants should be introduced to care pathways in order to avoid pathway gaps when staff changes occur. Scheduled meetings are also recommended to exchange updates on the patient’s progress and needs, allowing for the implementation of suitable therapies. The information given to guarantee continuity of care is more significant than the number of meetings.
Examine the treatment:
Continuous team contact is encouraged until each patient’s intended health outcome is attained, and if the patient’s condition has not improved, the steps of the care pathway should be reassessed. When the care pathway has to be revised, the frontline healthcare team members caring for the patient must accept the advice of key actors as well as the input of the patient being treated. It also prepares students to recognize the beginning of new symptoms and initiate treatment. interprofessional collaboration bridges the gaps. So does clinical communication technology. It keeps care team members connected (so they can reach out to that physician who hasn’t entered notes into the EHR) and automates alerts (so they receive text messages when critical lab results come in).
What Are Some General Tips to Ace Interprofessional Communication?
Include team-building activities whenever possible. These might be enormous or tiny in scale, and they don’t have to be expensive. Here are a few suggestions:
- Create an imaginary magazine cover for this task by having each team showcase a great business achievement for the project. Designing the layout with photos, headlines, and quotes is part of this. This is an excellent activity for motivating your group to think big.
- Break your staff into small groups and have them pitch a new product or service for your company on Shark Tank. This is a great method to encourage entrepreneurship, teamwork, and creativity.
- Question Master — start a meeting by asking everyone a thought-provoking question. “If you could bring a fictitious figure to life, who would it be and why?” for example. or “What would you obtain if you went back to school and got an advanced degree, and why?”
- Use some of these team-building exercises at the start or end of meetings, or go bigger by hosting an outside event. Your employees will engage and create bonds as a result of team building activities. Are you looking for a physical challenge? Try a team walk, a kickball league, or an escape room.
Conclusion
Most modern organisations today have open plan offices, which are designed to break down metaphorical barriers between individuals and departments, improving communication and promoting a collaborative environment. Open-plan offices not only enhance connection building contact and break down tangible and intangible borders, but they also create a healthy working by increasing natural light and circulation. There will always be quieter individuals of the team who are less comfortable contributing in group settings, but who may provide useful advice when given the opportunity.
How well departments and workers collaborate is one of the most important variables in determining organizational performance. With rising competition, it’s more crucial than ever to foster creativity in the workplace and foster positive employee connections. Encourage social interaction through small events, team-building exercises, rewarding team wins, breaking down office silos with open plan work areas, having leadership encourage open communication and creativity, and using technology platforms built for collaboration are all examples of interprofessional collaboration strategies. Communication improves knowledge exchange and innovation; therefore, encouraging teamwork in your company is worthwhile.
“It is the long history of people (and animal kind, too) that those who learnt to collaborate and improvise most successfully have prevailed,” said Charles Darwin.
