Interprofessional Collaboration and Interprofessional Education

Interprofessional Collaboration and Interprofessional Education.

An effective interprofessional collaborative approach involves a deliberate, planned system for patient care based on trust, collaboration, communication, role clarity, and shared commitment among clinicians from various relevant health disciplines, related closely to the needs of the patient. One assumes that the readers of an interprofessional journal such as PNNOJ appreciate the value of collaborative interprofessional teamwork, as well as the contributions of a variety of health care disciplines to the development of interdisciplinary knowledge for improved practice, and acknowledge the importance of collaboration to promote the best outcomes in the care of neonates, infants, and children.

New graduates of health care programs need specific competencies to function effectively in an interprofessional context.3 These competencies for interprofessional practice include: valuing patient-centeredness, having conflict management, communication and collaborative leadership skills, understanding of the scope of practice in other health care disciplines as well as their own scope of practice, and appreciation of best practice approaches to deliver safe and effective health care, regardless of setting or specialty. Educators in a variety of health care preparation programs, including medicine, nursing, and allied health disciplines, continue to explore methods to promote these competencies during their students’ educational processes.

Specialized interdisciplinary courses, clinical training opportunities in interprofessional environments, creation of interprofessional student teams for patient care, and interprofessionalsimulation experiences may be methods to promote interprofessional education and facilitate development of interprofessional team competencies. Right now, my own university’s nursing and health professions colleges are examining our curricula to determine how to best promote the development of interprofessional competencies in our students.

Pediatr Neonatal Nurs Open J. 2015; 2(2): 70-71. doi: 10.17140/PNNOJ-2-111