Interprofessional Education in Nursing

Why is IPE relevant to the practice of nursing and how does it affect health outcomes and the safety and quality of patient care?

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Interprofessional education enables the nursing students to expand their communication skills and improve their interprofessional relationship and interactions (Headrick, 2011). The nursing student gain more confidence by interacting with others in the same field. During the program, nursing students can interact with other students from different ethnicities. The interaction makes the students to understand other cultures, language and working models (Wilhelm son, 2012). They are also able to reflect on their professional duties and become aware of their core activities and limits of their careers.

Interprofessional education affects the health outcomes, safety, and quality of the patients in that it enables nurses to communicate with both staff and patients thus encouraging teamwork and cooperation. Cooperation between professions increases quality of health care because nurses gain more knowledge through interprofessional education (Rice, 2010). Nurses are often able to care for patients through teamwork; this is because patients mostly need help from more than one profession to solve their health problems.

What are some barriers to IPE and how can you promote IPE in your nursing practice?

Many schools are rigid to include interprofessional education programs. The programs also lack perceived value. Faculty members might be resistant to change due to increased workload and lack of time (Parsell, 2013). Leaders of the interprofessional education programs should motivate the faculty members to make these changes. They should also reward those members who make an effort to develop and implement interprofessional education. Interprofessional education is important when new schools are built and the current structures of schools are modified.

Share an experience of IPE in your nursing practice. Using the recommendation from at least one of the professional organizations listed in your readings, evaluate the experience and how well it met the recommendations?

In my nursing experience, interprofessional education has enabled me to interact better with patients and other nurses. It has expanded my knowledge and also improved my communication skills. It met the recommendations by making the nurses to have superior leadership; it has enhanced administrative support and ensured a smooth running of activities.

References

Wilhelmsson, M. (2012). How to Think About Interprofessional Competence: A Metacognitive Model Journal of Interprofessional Care, (2). 85-91.

Rice, K. (2010). An Intervention to Improve Interpersonal Collaborations and Communications. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 24(4): 350-361.

Parsell, G. (2013). Educational Principles Underpinning Successfully Shared Learning. Medical Teacher, 20,522-529.

Headrick, L. (2011). Interprofessional Working and Continuing Medical Education. BMJ, Volume, March 7, 316:771-774.