At present, the health care system is becoming increasingly complex and fragmented. In order to provide a high level of health care service to patients, interprofessional collaboration is of utmost importance. Doctorally prepared nurses are important actors in medical teamwork, collaborating with other professionals, and acting on different levels. In this paper, nurses’ work across and between levels of an organization, as well as the challenges and rewards of it, will be discussed.
During the educational process, nurses are being prepared for interprofessional collaboration (IPS). IPS is defined as “partnership between people from diverse backgrounds with distinctive professional cultures and possibly representing different organizations or sectors, who work together to solve problems or provide services” (Goldsberry, 2018, p. 1). At present, nurse practitioners are expected “to lead and participate in the ongoing reforms to the system, to direct research on evidence-based improvements in care, to translate research findings into the practice environment, and to be full partners on the health care team” (Altman et al., 2016, para. 1). In a particular organization, nurses could take different responsibilities that often interlace with the work of physicians, as well as administrative tasks, requiring a high level of leadership skill.
This type of work makes doctorally prepared nurses encounter challenges as well as rewards. In 2017 Navy Nurse Corps launched a new nursing practice model based on a multidimensional collaborative approach (Salinas et al., 2019). In the end, a survey was conducted, demonstrating nurses’ opinions about the practice. It indicated that “participants valued [the introduced practice] in enhancing clinical knowledge, discussing research and evidence-based practices, supporting professional development, and improving interdisciplinary teamwork” (Salinas et al., 2019, p. 41). On the other hand, there are particular challenges for nurses’ work on different levels of an organization. As Goldsberry (2019) argues, historically, nursing developed as a female profession, subordinate to male physicians. At present, both gender and hierarchical biases still exist, making the performance of nurses more complicated. However, rewards of multidimensional work overcome its challenges, especially due to the improvement of patients’ outcomes.
To conclude, nurses need to be prepared for work on different levels of healthcare organizations. This type of work is associated with particular challenges and rewards, as nurse practitioners are supposed to perform various actions that require multiple skills. However, the positive aspect of multidimensional work overcomes its challenges, especially in light of the improvement of patients’ outcomes.
References
Altman, S. H., Butler, A. S., & Shern, L. (Eds.). (2016). Assessing progress on the Institute of Medicine report The future of nursing. National Academies Press (US). Web.
Goldsberry, J. W. (2018). Advanced practice nurses leading the way: Interprofessional collaboration. Nurse Education Today, 65, 1–3. Web.
Salinas, D., Johnson, S. C., Conrardy, J. A., Adams, T. L., & Brown, J. D. (2019). Sustaining nursing grand rounds through interdisciplinary teamwork and interorganizational partnership. American Journal of Nursing, 119(4), 41–48. Web.