Essay Example on Unlocking the Power of Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Healthcare

Introduction

In the contemporary healthcare system, treatment of patients and their care is characterized by many interfaces and collaboration among a multidisciplinary team of medical personnel. These professionals have different educational attainment and academic backgrounds. To appreciate the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare, it is crucial to understand that in the course of treatment, a patient may interact with nurses, physicians, technicians, medical laboratory experts, and others. Therefore, effective treatment of patients involves diverse instances where critical information should be precisely communicated among individuals that make up interdisciplinary teams. Team collaboration is vital for a patient to receive optimum care, safety, and treatment. When healthcare personnel have poor communication, patient safety is at risk because of unclear orders, the inability to correctly interpret information, and failure to capture critical information. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the cause of ineffective communication among interdisciplinary teams and ways of avoiding it.

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Causes of Poor Communication

Ineffective communication among interdisciplinary teams in healthcare settings is attributed to various factors. In one of the recent studies, Spiridonov (2017) established that most of the healthcare professionals attribute the presence of ineffective communication in their work to their colleagues. For instance, it has been reported that some healthcare professionals tend to belittle and use profane language on their colleagues (HCPro, 2018). In this case, ineffective communication between or among colleagues may lead to high turnover and subsequent staff shortage- which further result in deterioration of teams. Second, poor communication has been linked to improper management of the healthcare facilities (Spiridonov, 2017). Therefore, formal training in change management is essential to all healthcare professionals (HCPro, 2018),

Third, while working as a team, healthcare personnel have attributed poor communication has been found to differences between the characters of the colleagues (Spiridonov, 2017). Poor remuneration is one of the leading causes of ineffective communication between and among teams. In healthcare professionals' opinion, poorly remunerated staff are more likely to have strained relationships and discord while working as a team. Ineffective communication is also attributed to lack of intra-organizational communication systems and redundancy and message fatigue (Liu et al., 2017)

Improving Communication Among Interdisciplinary Teams

To allow for harmonious relationships among diverse healthcare professionals who work as a team and improve patients' health outcomes, it is crucial to understand ways in which communication among groups can be enhanced (Spiridonov, 2017). One of the means of improving interdisciplinary communication in healthcare is through the improvement of equipment and enhanced compensation. Additionally, better communication among teams can be achieved through the improvement of the healthcare facilities. Moreover, better communication can be realized through team building activities.

Furthermore, better communication among healthcare teams can be achieved through frequent training on the influence of communication skills on the improvement of relationships among professionals working as a team (Spiridonov, 2017). In agreement with these findings, Conner Black (2019) reported that ineffective communication and their detrimental impact on teamwork in healthcare environments could be avoided through the TeamSTEPPS curriculum. The TeamSTEPPS training equips trainees with leadership skills, situational monitoring skills, mutual support and task assistance techniques, and improves communication. The curriculum has been empirically validated to be useful in the prevention and mitigation of uncivil behaviors and improvement of teamwork and patient safety. In support of these findings, Ulrich et al. (2019) emphasized the importance of interprofessional learning activities in enhancing communication in interdisciplinary teams by making them know more about each other.

In a related study, Stadick (2020) established that interprofessional education is positively correlated with healthcare professionals' capacity to interact with colleagues from other medical professions. In support of these findings, HCPro (2018) noted that multidisciplinary training should be a continuous process and should highlight acceptable behavior and communication in the workplace and their impact on interpersonal relationships and patient safety. Through interdisciplinary trainings, healthcare professionals get the opportunity to understand each other's behavior and effect on communication. Consequently, healthcare professionals get a chance to rectify practices that are highly likely to hamper communication in an interdisciplinary setting.

Improved communications can also be achieved if healthcare professionals communicate with compassion and presence of organized command structures and emergency response teams in every hospital (Liu et al., 2017). Lastly, enhanced communication among healthcare teams can be accomplished by clarifying the risks associated with deteriorated relationships within a team (Spiridonov, 2017). This will motivate each of the team members to improve their communication skills, leading to different favorable consequences.

Attitude Towards Teamwork

For healthcare organizations to promote collaboration among their members derived from different specialties, the attitudes and collaborative competencies of the personnel should be understood. This is because only medical professionals with a positive attitude towards collaboration and teamwork are highly likely to work well in interprofessional teams. Therefore, an essential aspect of healthcare staffs' training is what Stadick (2020) described as interprofessional education. Through interprofessional education, healthcare professionals are prepared to deliver patient care in a collaborative team environment. Therefore, such training produces healthcare professionals capable of collaborating effectively. Stadick's (2020) study established that favorable attitudes towards teamwork are positively correlated with collaborative skills. Similarly, HCPro (2018) noted that physicians should try their best to change problematic attitudes in the workplace. One of the unfavorable attitudes among physicians is the feeling that they should not be civil because they work in a high-pressure situation (HCPro, 2018). This behavior often makes other healthcare personnel avoid working with physicians.

It is also worth noting that enhanced communication can be attained through an in-depth study of health workers' motivation (Spiridonov, 2017). In support of Spiridonov's (2017) findings, Ulrich et al. (2019) noted that attitude towards interprofessional collaboration is one of the critical factors affecting communication among teams. Specifically, Ulrich et al. (2019) reported that among young healthcare professionals from different specialties, there exists a favorable attitude towards communication, which fosters teamwork. Even though Ulrich et al. (2019) findings agree with Spiridonov's (2017) findings regarding the psychological factors that improve communication in teams, the two studies do not have comparable samples- especially regarding the age. Specifically, Ulrich et al.'s (2019) study comprised of a sample of participants below the age of 30 years while Spiridonov's (2017) consisted of participants aged 30-60 years old.

Summary of the Main Findings from the Literature

The literature review revealed that ineffective communication is frequent when healthcare professionals are working as a team comprised of members from diverse specialties. However, empirical studies have suggested ways of addressing the problem. A breakdown in communication arises when colleagues compete against each other rather than collaborate among one another. Additionally, it was established that poor management of healthcare facilities leads to communication breakdown. For instance, individuals tasked with managing healthcare facilities may fail to provide the necessary motivation to their medical team. In such a case, healthcare professionals will not have the essential impetus to collaborate with members of other specialties in solving a particular health problem. It is also worth noting that poor managers may fail to provide healthcare professionals with the necessary equipment needed to accomplish their work.

Differences in personality is also a crucial factor associated with ineffective communication. For instance, who have extreme and opposite personalities may fail to understand each other on a small issue because of differences in expectations and comprehension of the problem. Furthermore, when healthcare professionals are underpaid, communication is more likely to be hampered. This is because of the lack of morale to perform assigned tasks.

Even though poor communication among interdisciplinary teams is still a challenge in healthcare, there are evidence-based strategies for tackling the problem. For instance, evidence shows that when managers of healthcare organization avail equipment on time and provide adequate remuneration to their staff, there is an increased likelihood that miscommunication will be a thing of the past. Second, team building activities is another effective way of improving interdisciplinary communication. This is because members get to interact with one another openly, thus diffusing suspicions and helping create harmonious working relationships. Third, it is crucial to understand the psychological influences of communication in healthcare teams. The two essential factors include healthcare staffs' motivation and attitude towards teamwork. Through improved motivation and development of a favorable attitude towards collaboration, effective communication can be attained. Various trainings can help staff to be motivated and develop a positive attitude towards working in interdisciplinary teams such as the TeamSTEPPS curriculum and interprofessional education.

References

Conner Black, A. (2019). Promoting civility in healthcare settings. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 34(2), 64-67.

HCPro (2018). How to prevent ineffective communication. (2018). Medical Staff Briefing, 28(7), 6-9.

Liu, B. F., Fowler, B. M., Roberts, H. A., Sayers, E. L. P., & Egnoto, M. J. (2017). The role of communication in healthcare systems and community resilience. International Journal of Emergency Management, 13(4), 305. doi: 10.1504/ijem.2017.087218

Price-Dowd, C. (2018). Communication is a two-way street. British Journal of Nursing, 27(3), 171. https://doi-org.mcneese.idm.oclc.org/10.12968/bjon.2018.27.3.171

Price-Dowd, C. (2018). Communication is a two-way street. British Journal of Nursing, 27(3), 171. https://doi-org.mcneese.idm.oclc.org/10.12968/bjon.2018.27.3.171

Spiridonov, S. I. (2017). Causes For Ineffective Communication Between Medical Specialists. Journal of IMAB - Annual Proceeding (Scientific Papers), 23(3), 1623-1626. doi: 10.5272/jimab.2017233.1623

Stadick, J. L. (2020). The relationship between interprofessional education and health care professionals attitudes towards teamwork and interprofessional collaborative competencies. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, 19, 100320. doi: 10.1016/j.xjep.2020.100320

Ulrich, G., Homberg, A., Karstens, S., & Mahler, C. (2019). Attitudes towards interprofessional collaboration in young healthcare professionals. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 33(6), 768-773. doi: 10.1080/13561820.2019.1597839