Evaluating Interdisciplinary Collaboration Skills
The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.
—Vince Lombardi
Collaboration is a critical component of quality improvement. It is also a central tenet of your endeavors as a scholar-practitioner in this Walden University Master’s program. To succeed in your role as a nurse leader-manager, it is important to engage in ongoing development of collaborative skills and to help foster a culture that values collaboration.
In Weeks 1 and 2 of this course, you analyzed your strengths and considered how to leverage these strengths for effective leadership. In a similar vein, this week you evaluate your strengths and areas for growth with regard to interdisciplinary collaboration.
To prepare:
Review the competencies described in the Interprofessional Education Collaborative report and in Chapter 9 of the Hickey and Brosnan text.
As you reflect on the competency statements outlined for each domain, think about which ones reflect your strengths. Which competency statements point to areas for growth?
Consider the benefit of working with interdisciplinary teams for addressing quality improvement initiatives.
Conduct a search of the literature and select at least one article that illustrates the benefits of interprofessional collaboration for nurse leader-managers as it relates to improving quality.
Note: Think about a potential connection between the concepts presented throughout this course (i.e. systems-level change, quality, etc.), and a Practicum Project that you might focus on in NURS 6600. Consider how you might use interprofessional collaboration in your practicum setting.
Post an analysis of your strengths and areas for growth related to interprofessional collaboration competencies. Explain the benefits of interprofessional collaboration for meeting quality improvement goals. Support your response with examples from current literature.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days suggesting strategies for developing interprofessional competencies. Support your suggestions with evidence from current literature and personal experience.
Required Readings
Hickey, J. V., & Brosnan, C. A. (2017). Evaluation of health care quality in for DNPs (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Chapter 11, “Health Care Teams” (pp. 227-264)
This chapter focuses on the function of teams within health care with particular focus on methods of evaluation.
Bainbridge, L., Nasmith, L., Orchard, C., & Wood, V. (2010). Competencies for interprofessional collaboration. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 24(1), 6–11.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The authors of this article put forth a competency framework for interprofessional collaboration that can be used by various stakeholders. The framework consists of six competencies and the authors also provide detailed descriptions of the associated skills each competency requires.
Braithwaite, J., Westbrook, M., Nugus, P., Greenfield, D., Travaglia, J. Runciman, W. … Westbrook, J. (2012). A four-year, systems-wide intervention promoting interprofessional collaboration. BMC Health Services Research, 12(1), 99–106.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article examines strategies and challenges of working to improve interprofessional collaboration. The benefits of this type of teaming are also discussed.
Petri, L. (2010). Concept analysis of interdisciplinary collaboration. Nursing Forum, 45(2), 73–82.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This literature review explores the meaning of interdisciplinary collaboration and identifies important antecedents and attributes of the process.
Shor, R. (2010). Interdisciplinary collaboration between social workers and dieticians in nutrition education programs for children-at-risk. Social Work in Health Care, 49(4), 345–361.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The author of this article focuses on the importance of establishing interdisciplinary collaborative partnerships in order to meet community needs. The article addresses common issues that arise during the establishment of these relationships and outlines solutions.
Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel. (2011). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Report of an expert panel. Retrieved from http://www.aacn.nche.edu/education-resources/ipecreport.pdf
Numerous organizations in multiple disciplines worked together to develop these core competencies for interprofessional collaboration.
