Efficient interprofessional collaboration is one of the trends that shows positive results in the healthcare system today. The team consisting of members with different professional skills enables to provide patients with the best care in clinical settings. The outcomes of this collaboration in the case of a successful team are beneficial for both patients and caregivers. In family practice, there is no interprofessional team, but it is suggested that the group consisting of a registered nurse, therapist, and social worker would result in the most sophisticated care for clients of that clinic. Compassion, advocacy, resilience, and evidence-based practice are critical skills of high-quality interprofessional teams.
Compassion
The type of work setting is family medicine, and interprofessional teams are involved in the activity. Patient care is a complex process that consists of not only medical treatment but emotional support too. Generally, the latter is expected to be provided by the nurse. The nursing actions that can show compassion to the patient include using a positive voice and gestures that indicate support, respecting the patient, and being an active listener of his/her concerns (Bijani, Tehranineshat, & Torabizadeh, 2019). Applying these actions as a part of the interprofessional team at my organization could be a valuable part of the care for patients.
Advocacy
Interprofessional teams directly affect the cultural aspect of the unit by transmitting the key organizational procedures to the given person. For the patients, it is important to have someone on their side during treatment because these teams allow them to be informed about their current condition. As a part of the interprofessional team, the nurse is expected to show advocacy to the patient.
In cases when the rights or decisions of the patient are ignored, the nurse should act as an advocate of the patient (Bijani et al., 2019). The actions of a nurse include giving the sick information about his rights, defend his decisions even if professionals have a different plan, and ensure the safety of the treatment for the patient. This kind of support from a nurse could enhance the satisfaction of the patient with the care provided and enable the team to understand the care required clearly.
Resilience
In healthcare today, the amount of stress nurses face is constantly increasing. The ability to cope with stress is an essential skill for a medical worker to have in order to be able to work in this field. The role of a nurse in the interprofessional team also includes being able to contribute to resilience in a tough situation (Tuuri et al., 2016). The cooperative relationship between members of the unit can be a solution for the times when they face physical and emotional exhaustion. The process of support for interprofessional teams in the organization can be influenced by regular reporting and feedback. These activities are essential tools to constantly monitor the quality of service.
Evidence-Based Practice
Being a part of the interprofessional team, nurses should be able to apply evidence-based medicine to patient care. During the decision-making process, nurses should be aware of the most recent research finding in that field. Application of the new practice should be discussed in the interprofessional team to ensure the benefit of the given approach to patients (Batt, Ward, & Acker, 2017). The environment of the clinical setting could improve if the interdisciplinary team discussed this kind of issue.
Summary
In conclusion, iCARE components, as an addition to interprofessional teams, can positively affect patient outcomes through actions such as providing support, defending patient decisions, cooperative behavior, and application of the most recent finding. This kind of support for the interprofessional teams in terms of the iCare can be introduced in family practice by explaining the components and applying them to my method.
References
Batt, A. M., Ward G., & Acker, J. J. (2017). Paramedic patient advocacy: A review and discussion. Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 15(4), 1-6.
Bijani, M., Tehranineshat, B., & Torabizadeh, C. (2019). Nurses’, nursing students, and nursing instructors’ perceptions of professional values: A comparative study. Nursing Ethics, 26(3), 870-883.
Tuuri, R. E., Gehrig, M. G., Busch, C. E., Ebeling, M., Morella, K., Hunt, L., & Russell, W. S. (2016). Beat the shock clock: An interprofessional team improves pediatric septic shock care. Clinical Pediatrics, 55(7), 626-638.