Essay Sample on Interprofessional Collaboration: Enhancing Patient Care & Reducing Medical Errors

Introduction

Interprofessional collaboration is an interactive culture where different health workers from various professional backgrounds work with patients, caregivers, families, and the community (Morley & Cashell, 2017). Creating teams of interprofessional collaboration enhance patient care and outcomes. Additionally, interpersonal healthcare is vital in reducing medical errors because communication is vital in preventing such common mistakes (Morley & Cashell, 2017). Interprofessional culture is essential in improving relationships among health workers and enhancing job satisfaction.

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Professional-Centered and Patient-Centered Teams

In the previous year, working as an intern gave me a chance to participate in the patient-centered care team. Patient-centered care helped to encourage active interaction and shared-decision making between us as professionals, patients, and their families (Agreli et al., 2016). This type of care model also allowed patients and families to practice their preferences, cultures, and values. Moreover, while making decisions, we ensured that the physical and emotional well-being of patients was made a top priority.

Where We Can Apply Collaborative Teams

After watching the TED talk, I confirmed the most common problem that happens to most patients that involve different trials of medication that end up being harmful to the body. Some of the practicum opportunities where my peers and I can apply collaborative team includes care for patients after brain surgery, care for recovering patients with uncommon cancers, and chronically ill like those with diabetes or endometriosis. An example is the collaborative interdisciplinary team towards the treatment of a patient with traumatic brain injury. A multidisciplinary clinic after surgery, in this case, will involve all consultants sitting together with the patient and each of us covering specific aspects of patient history and examinations. A collective decision is then made in favor of the patient goals making the recovery process easier, thus saving cost and on many unnecessary medical trails.

Conclusion

One new insight I have learned related to collaboration competences is that smart teams are the future of quality healthcare and not the typical doctor to one-on-one patient care. Technology plays a significant role in care networking, which involves not only the health practitioners but also the family of the patient and community (Morley & Cashell, 2017). Care anywhere, not necessarily in a hospital, and care networking aided by technology, are two important aspects in achieving care customization.

References

Agreli, H. F., Peduzzi, M., & Silva, M. C. (2016). Patient centred care in interprofessional collaborative practice. Interface-Comunicação, Saúde, Educação, 20, 905-916,
https://doi.org/10.1590/1807-57622015.0511

Morley, L., & Cashell, A. (2017). Collaboration in health care. Journal of medical imaging and radiation sciences, 48(2), 207-216, https://www.jmirs.org/article/S1939-8654(16)30117-5/pdf