NR 351 Week 3 Discussion Building Communication and Collaboration Skills (Graded)

Sample Answer

Teamwork often refers to collaboration and cooperation among individuals within the same profession or discipline. For example, nurses working together on a nursing team. Healthcare professionals coming together providing patient care or management of a unit. Team members coming together sharing similar knowledge and skills related to their specific speciality. Team members conduct brief team huddles at the beginning of shifts to discuss priorities, anticipate potential challenges, and set goals for the day.

Interprofessional collaboration involves healthcare professionals from different disciplines all working together, it recognizes that patient’s needs are multifaceted. Interprofessional collaboration also includes shared decisions where each professional contributes their own expertise to develop a unified plan of care. Although the roles are clear all professionals understand and respect other team members role. According to (Lancaster, et al., 2015). Physicians, nurses, and UAPs operate as separate healthcare providers who barely speak to each other. Physicians see themselves as the primary patient care decision makers.

Defining clear roles and communicating roles and responsibilities ensures accountability and avoids duplicating task, encourage open feedback and reporting of communication issues promote continuous improvement. The use of technology like secure messaging systems or tele-health platforms facilitate real-time communication among team members and healthcare professionals enhances interprofessional communication, leading to improved patient outcomes and a safer healthcare environment.

• Lancaster, G., Kolakowsky-Hayner, S., Kovacich, J., Greer-Williams, N. (2015). Interdisciplinary communication and collaboration among physicians, nurses, and unlicensed assistive personnel. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 47(3), 275-284.