Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare refers to where different healthcare professionals work together in providing exceptional care to their clients and hence improving the quality of their services. By providing quality care, the public gains confidence in healthcare systems, patients get better access at their convenience, and above all, job satisfaction is achieved. Collaboration can be attained in many ways. Willingness to collaborate is the first step in making cooperation successful. Healthcare professionals managed to work as a team with patients, and therefore, treatment was holistic. Working together enhanced relationships amongst the health professionals, and work-related conflicts were reduced. Mutual respect was attained, and care providers appreciated each and everyone’s role in the health systems. Interdisciplinary collaboration improves the expertise of the professionals. Nurses learned more beyond their scope, and this increased the morale of the nurses, and they appreciated the opportunity to work in a broader range, which benefited the patients too. Motivated and happy care providers ensure patients are also pleased by attending to them well. Communication among healthcare providers improved, and trust was built as a result of interdisciplinary collaboration.
Although interdisciplinary was successful, challenges existed. Hierarchy posed a challenge while working together. Some professionals tend to think that they contribute more in the wellbeing of the patients and hence are more valuable, leading to conflicts of interest in work, which adversely affected the intention of achieving the desired goal. Role definition helps in such situations, and the social values attached to some professions have to be dealt with to ensure a conducive working experience. The difference in working hours of the team taking care of patients also posed a challenge. Treatment plans of the patients were discussed at different times and when the medical team could not communicate effectively, a lot of time was wasted in repeating the discussions with the patients (Steihaug, Johannessen, \AAdnanes, Paulsen, & Mannion, 2016). Proper communication mechanisms have to be put in place to ensure interdisciplinary collaboration is achieved.
Poor collaboration affects healthcare systems adversely. Poor collaboration leads to inefficiency in workplaces. Health providers may fail to develop appropriate plans for their patients. The management is, therefore put to the task of explaining the reasons why the patients are not receiving comprehensive care. Inefficiency brings conflict between providers and management. Poor collaboration may also affect the relationship among health providers. Communication problems arise, leading to a stressful working environment. Conflicts amongst themselves arise and the morale to continue working diminishes. Poor collaboration disrupts harmony while working (Morley & Cashell, 2017). Various tools are used in healthcare. When there is a collaboration, health providers work effectively sharing the tools and equipment in the event of limited resource and on the other hand when there is a poor collaboration; various departments may suffer due to unfair distribution of materials. When this happens, the health organization may have financial constraints in an attempt to meet the needs of every employee.
Appropriate leadership strategies have to be put in place for smooth interdisciplinary collaboration. Organizations should have decentralized reporting. Decentralized reporting is whereby reporting is done even at the local leadership. Localized reporting helps in efficiency in health systems since the local people can develop plans that suit the local communities. Leaders are also supposed to ensure a flat hierarchy. A flat hierarchy is whereby the roles are viewed as equally important. A flat hierarchy helps in promoting equality in the workforce. Uniformity of the workforce boosts the morale of every employee since they are all recognized. Transparency in leadership is also required in making interdisciplinary collaboration successful (Regan, Laschinger, & Wong, 2016). Decisions made transparently are more likely to be embraced. Honesty and openness in the organization make its employees have faith in the organization, and conclusions are arrived at with ease saving a lot of time and resources. Once the laid strategies are put in practice, there is also a need for consistent performance monitoring. Monitoring ensures that targets are met and duties are done accordingly. Monitoring also helps in rewarding employees who do their best to build the reputation of the health organization.
Other than leadership strategies, collaboration strategies have to be put in place to ensure the intended goals are achieved. Collaboration strategies include personal rewards, training, clarity of vision, appropriate skill mix, supportive team climate, individual characteristics that support interdisciplinary teamwork, and understanding and respecting the roles assigned to everyone (Nancarrow et al., 2013). Rewarding employees who do better in their fields challenges the rest of the team members to work harder. For collaboration to be effective, a skill that matches should be considered in the formation of teams to ensure a smooth flow of activities. Team members should have a clear understanding of the goals and visions of their organization, and this helps them focus on their duties. Team members should trust one another to have a supportive team climate. Team members are also expected to work on their personalities to achieve the best results.
Collaboration in health systems is vital in improving the quality of services. An interdisciplinary partnership does not only benefits the patients but also the health professionals. Collaboration should, therefore, be embraced in the health sector.
References
Morley, L., & Cashell, A., (2017). Collaboration in Health Care. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, 48(2), 207–216.
Nancarrow, S. A., Booth, A., Ariss, S., Smith, T., Enderby, P., & Roots, A. (2013). Ten principles of good interdisciplinary teamwork. Human Resources for Health, 11(1), 19.
Regan, S., Laschinger, H. K. S., & Wong, C. A. (2016). The influence of empowerment, authentic leadership, and professional practice environments on nurses’ perceived interprofessional collaboration. Journal of Nursing Management, 24(1), E54–E61.
Steihaug, S., Johannessen, A.-K., \AAdnanes, M., Paulsen, B. ard, & Mannion, R. (2016). Challenges in achieving collaboration in clinical practice: the case of Norwegian health care. International Journal of Integrated Care, 16(3).