Comments on: At Case Western, Students to Work Together to Prepare for Future Care

By: Julia Lewis

Julia Lewis — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 02:13:00 +0000

I think that having students of different fields learn together is an absolutely brilliant idea. Too often, there are gaps in the field of health care. It is not uncommon to have, for example, a doctor who ineffectively communicates with the nurse who hasn’t effectively communicated with the social worker, and so on and so forth. These gaps in communication create a significant threat to patient care outcomes. What Case Medical Western is doing by allowing their students opportunities to collaborate is teaching their students the importance of teamwork right out of the starting gate. It is paramount for professionals to understand the strengths of their colleagues and to be open and willing to call on them for support. Ultimately, patient care is a team effort. As this post stated, “the root of many of our errors had to do with the fact that our professions were not working effectively together for patient care”. Providing opportunities for students to work together in school is a great start toward creating well-rounded, collaborative care.

As a nursing student at Rutgers University, I have so far had two opportunities to work interprofessionally. The first was with physical therapy students and the second with first year medical students. In both events, the mixed group of students learned about a topic together and then were split up to practice and discuss. I feel I learned a great deal from my fellow students in this setting. It was interesting to see how another profession approached the same health care concept. It seemed we had a lot to learn from each other. In the coming years, it will become even more important for health care workers to provide interprofessional, collaborative care to the growing elderly population. The geriatric population often have many diagnoses and require care from multiple providers. This is just one instance in which interprofessional skills prove to be very important. I think the collaborative projects being incorporated into schools like Case Medical Western are a wonderful way to build collaborative care.

By: campaignforaction

campaignforaction — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 17:56:00 +0000

In reply to Katherine Puca. Approve.

By: Katherine Puca

Katherine Puca — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 03:07:00 +0000

The initiative to allow students from multiple health fields to interact with one another, in the soon to be Case Western Reserve University Health Education campus is remarkable. It is satisfying to read current changes are being incorporated into healthcare schools. As a current healthcare professional, it is visible to notice the importance of collaboration between professionals in different fields. Learning how to work together starts with learning how to communicate. It is vital for a healthcare professional to know how to effectively communicate with individuals from different departments. Communication is the most important aspect in forming an effective relation within members of the same department as well as professionals from different departments. This practical approach allows for a stable inter-professional collaboration.

As it is mentioned above “the root of many of our errors had to do with the fact that our professions were not working effectively together for patient care.” In order to provide an outstanding care, healthcare providers should take into consideration inter-professional group work. Other schools should become part of this initiative of inter-professional collaboration. Once students are ready to be part of the working field they would also be ready to provide a more efficient patient care. I have personally seen that when different departments work together towards the same goal the results are more beneficial to the patient.

A recent study suggests patients with chronic diseases should not get a “fragmented health care supply of single health care professionals, [instead] a more tailored and synchronized health care delivery from a diversity of disciplines. (Jean et al., 2016) Patients in the study believed the better the interaction between professionals from different departments the better the service provided. It was mentioned that professionals learn more about the strengths each field dominates by daily interaction. Different health field professionals specialize in different procedures and have different knowledge. They can all work together and reinforce each other. In the study mentioned, the idea was for the patient and healthcare professional to set health-related goals. Then the inter-professional team would discuss the goals, plan which field will best carry each action and then develop a “patient-centered care plan”. Awareness of this type of patient care should influence the current and the future of healthcare education.

Reference:
Jean Jacques van Dongen, J., Lenzen, S. A., van Bokhoven, M. A., Daniëls, R., van der Weijden, T., & Beurskens, A. (2016). Interprofessional collaboration regarding patients’ care plans in primary care: a focus group study into influential factors. BMC Family Practice, 171-10. doi:10.1186/s12875-016-0456-5