Communication and Collaboration in Managing the Professional Environment

This article discusses the benefits of multi-agency working, effective communication, and teamwork in healthcare. It also includes a critical incident and transfer of good practice. The subject is healthcare, and the course code and college/university are not mentioned.

Communication and Collaboration in
Managing the Professional
Environment
Table of Contents

TASK ONE................................................................................................................................3
1) Multi-agency working and its benefits to the well-being............................................3
2) How to work collaboratively and in teams to support the group................................4
3) Effective communication while working....................................................................6
TASK TWO...............................................................................................................................8
4) Critical incident and transfer of good practice............................................................8
REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................10

TASK ONE
1) Multi-agency working and its benefits to the well-being
Individuals need to seek a different range of professionals or service providers in
order to satisfy their multiple or complex needs. Multi Agency working provides a
platform or medium through which individual can fulfill their complex needs. Basically
multi agency working involves the partnership of different professionals from like private
sector or on voluntary basis or brokers or micro or direct employers or various other
sectors.
Their ultimate motive is to provide a wide range of services to solve the problem early
in comparison to normal time (Arnold and Boggs, 2019). Their collaboration brings a lot
of change as help or assistance can be given on an early basis. Multi Agency works with
the concept of sharing problems of service users together or jointly and solving them by
sharing common goal or aim or information required for the purpose.
Multi agency works for the well being of different users by safeguarding their
interests (Multi Agency Working, 2020). It also protects its service users from abuse ,
exploitation or negativity. They work in different aspects like by taking action or taking
measures for improving the quality of life of individuals.
The service group chosen is patients. Health sector is the most important sector for
economy of any country. But most of the times it is neglected. Especially in case of those
who cannot afford the bill of hospitals charging huge amount of money it becomes very
important to safeguard their health issues (Anagün, 2018). Here multi agency working
comes into light.
This agency, comprised of different professionals from different sectors or health
specialists, can protect the interest of these individuals and work in their favor. A big
percentage of population dies just because of neglected health care given. There are lot of
benefits of multi agency working for the well being of patients.
Benefits of multi agency working-
 One of the biggest advantage of the agency is diversified skills of different
practitioners involved in agency as each practitioner can give services in which it
is specialized. It will become easier and affordable also for patients by using
services of such agency.
 Another advantage is that no individual person or practitioner has to take a burden
of all the things like giving proper treatment, medicines and taking care of proper

diet. This agency provides a benefit of sharing of responsibilities and burden or
duties which can be effectively used for giving services (Guirdham and Guirdham,
2017). This gives to rise of concept of specialization as everyone gets to do their
jobs better and it improves the efficiency of work because it is done on repetitive
basis.
 Sometimes it gets delayed in the treatment of a person as many hospitals now a
days assure of giving their services only on advance payment. Not everyone can
afford it on an immediate basis especially in case of emergency. It may take a
person to arrange funds few days which delays the treatment of patients. Multi
agency works for saving the individuals from abuse (Ratheeswari, 2018). They
can help the patients with their treatment on an early basis.
 One organization cannot have all the resources or tools or machines and medicines
required for the treatment of patients. In case of multi agency working it is way lot
easier to arrange the tools from different sources. It means resources can be
arranged in the smaller parts from different sources which was not possible in case
of individual organization or can be arranged not in time. The agency works
together and as it was discussed earlier also that the agency often shares resources
in order to provide services hence it becomes smoother.
 Patients are more comfortable with the team comprising of different individuals
with specific job roles rather than individual health care taker. They can discuss
particular issues with each specific person. Also patients get more attention or
time in case of multi agency working on every thing like their medicines are taken
care by chemist, their diet items are taken care by someone with the knowledge of
diet like dietician. In this whole process nothing is ignored which are rather
ignored if only one person is in charge of all the responsibilities (Kane, 2017).
Also it cannot be expected from one person that he is expert of all the fields.
 Everything is done on fast basis in case of multi agency working as there are a lot
of people contributing towards the whole process of providing the services.
2) How to work collaboratively and in teams to support the group
In multi agency working team plays a very important role in providing services. Team
needs to act in coordination in order to be effective team. An effective team is the one where
expertise , information, observations and responsibilities are shared between each team
member and where team members and patients can communicate with each other effectively.

A good team player is one that can understand the atmosphere and culture of workplace and
the impact it can put on dynamics of the team and functioning of the team.
As it was observed that the agency works in the form of team which provides one of
the biggest advantage that patients can get their treatment done from various specialists like
normal physician, or dermatologist or gynaecologist or neurologist. In context of this
advantage it is very important for each team member to complete it is work on time and with
proper efficiency to gets the benefit of this advantage (Sottilare and et.al., 2018).
A good team member should communicate with the patients on a regular basis so that
they can form a good connection with the patients. Good communication is also required in
case any information possessed by patients that is necessary for the treatment must be pass
on the to the specialists for avoiding any mistake.
Team members need to have certain characteristics in order to make team work
successful. Some of the characteristics are discussed below-
 Team member should have the quality of decision making. The person should be
capable of taking decision making at the right time. Good leadership skills are also
required for effective team member.
 Good team member should coordinate with all other team members and act as a
collective unit (Jiang and Ritchie, 2017). The team member performs its own tasks on
own basis and consult the observations with other team members.
 A team member should be specialised in its own task and should have proper
knowledge and technical skills and should be responsible enough to take
responsibility of its own work.
 A team member should know how to handle the pressure in case or situation of high
workload and should be active regarding solutions to any problem which arises during
performance of its own tasks.
 As already discussed communication is very important so that everyone can work
together for achieving a common goal.
 No one in the team should try to degrade another person on the basis of hierarchy
level. It is very obvious that tasks to be allocated and training to be given will be
different for each team member. But that does not mean one has the right to put down
another person. A sense of respect and trust should be there between team members.
 There should be discipline when performing the tasks allocated to team member so
that tasks can be performed timely on an strict basis.

 Honesty is one of the most important characteristic that an effective team member
should have. It is very important to be transparent and honest about the decisions,
future goals, mistakes so that there could be transparency between team members.
An effective team results in many advantages or benefits to both patients or team
members. There is lot to learn for every team member while working in team and patients are
more satisfied with the treatment and care (Cook, 2017). There are less chances of medical
errors as work is distributed among team members on the basis of their specialized fields.
As while performing an operation in the operation theatre team work plays a very vital
role. As in case of big surgeries team work is important. The team as a whole can only
perform the operation otherwise it is impossible to successfully perform it. For the patient to
give proper doses and cleaning a whole team is required. As everyone in the team is
delegated or specialised in a particular task which is to be performed by them individually.
Simultaneously all the work can never be done by an individual as it is a process which is to
be performed by team.
To achieve and accomplish the goal coordination is must. As there is accountability
according to the responsibility of the team member. It gives advantage in performing the
operations. As the new technology is evolving so the member who have way with it is
required. Otherwise the machine cannot be operated by an individual who do not have
knowledge about it.
3) Effective communication while working
Communication involves exchange of information between people. It has to
communicate with various people. So effective communication is required. It plays very
important role in case of social and health care. As in case of health the direct communication
with the patient. It is very important as the patient does not have any language barrier.
Depending on the child patient the communication is done. The practitioners should
show interest while communicating so it can be made more effective. As the group also
provides services to the people suffering from mental health, learning disability and so on.
So, to communicate with disable it should work on the skills of communication. As the
specialist are required in that case (Alsharo, Gregg and Ramirez, 2017). The organisation
check on the communication.
As in case of the child care the practitioner develop skills which help to communicate
with the children. For effective communication interaction with the child is must. They also
act in friendly manner with them. Talk with the child in soft torn and analyse its gestures. By

doing this the child get attached. Which help to diagnose the child to detect the disease which
is caused.
The key features the practitioners uses for effective communication can be listening to
the patient or person carefully. The social user group listen to all the people carefully and
consider their feelings and moods. They show interest and show respect towards the people to
make them feel comfortable. The group emotionally support the patient and bring
positiveness in them.
The main thing in communication is that the information is received clearly and
accurately which can be easily interpreted. The communication is done in written as well. In
case of written the detail information of the person is known in case of a patient (Wohlers and
Hertel, 2017). The patient’s family also understand it clearly and it can be used for future
preferences as well.
As the patients are service users so eye contact is necessary so that they can focus and
be active. The best way is to acknowledge the child’s feeling and emotion. With this they feel
more secured and open. As being the healthcare professional and treating the patients the
clear conversation is required. While prescribing the medicines to the patients it should be
clear so that there is no communication gap.
As in the evolving technology the communication with the patients has also changed.
As in the modern environment the organisation use online tools for booking appointments. So
that there is no communication issues in manual appointments. The information can even be
routed directly so that the reliable information is received (Whysall, Owtram and Brittain,
2019). All the barriers are removed so that information can simply be communicated.
While conveying with the patients their skills are known so that there is no
communication barrier. As if the patient is not well educated then accordingly it should be
treated. To make the conversation more effective between the patient it is must that their
education and literacy is to be checked. Otherwise communication will be tough.
While addressing the patients patience should be kept. As due to the age and illness
they may not be in the position to talk. So, they are given more care and time so that they can
tell all the problems. As they are given ample time so they trust more and clear explain the
health issues. Otherwise if the practitioner rush then the patient will not be able to respond to
the questions. As well as the instructions are given in written as to follow the procedure and
ensure that everything told is done by the patient.
As at the time of bad news telling the patient is not correct as it may affect them
physically and mentally. It is communicated in a different way other than the normal one. It is

informed to the patient’s family members. As in case of chronic diseases the practitioner had
to make good relationship with the patients. As they have to visit frequently so to make them
comfortable it is necessary. As good communication have emotional impact on the patient.
They feel safe and secure to tell each problem so that it can be cured. Otherwise without
communicating it becomes very difficult to assess the disease. So, with the help of effective
communication the practitioner can cure the patient very nicely. It satisfy the patient about
the trustworthiness on the practitioner as well as the health regarding issues.
TASK TWO
4) Critical incident and transfer of good practice
As one fine day I was working then one patient arrives suddenly their was a rush. As
that person was yelling out of pain. The case was that he had been operated and diagnosed
few months back. But he was having pain from past few days. When he diagnosed again then
it was found that by the mistake of doctor something was left inside the stomach. It was quite
shocking for me for the first time as this is very big mistake. But as doctors are also human
beings so they can also commit mistakes sometimes. Due to this bacteria were spread in the
body. Their were complication regarding this. So while communicating with the person I was
patiently listening to the problem. I consoled that person and his family that everything will
be fine.
Then accordingly I planned the operation to take the left out from the stomach. Then I
discussed with my team so that the operation can be successful. Then we organised the
operation theatre to perform the operation. Then I performed it with my team and it went
successfully. Then the person was under observation for some days so that we can diagnose
him. He was taken care and regularly checked. So that if any complication was their then it
would be checked (Oh and Lee, 2020). The patient was the only earning for the family so we
have given him concession on the medical expenses.
When the patient was in the hospital I used to communicate with him in friendly
manner so that he can feel free to talk. Due to this the patient feel satisfied as the operation
went successful and he was not feeling the pain. The patient was feeling alright so then he
was discharged and I prescribed certain medication to recover fast. His family was not
educated so I communicated with him so that he understand the prescription. Otherwise their
would be communication barrier.
Even after discharging from the hospital he was told to revisit for check-up. I
provided him all the help which I could so that he could recover quickly. I helped him in all

the possible way. Due to this he gained trust in doctors again which was the best thing. As the
main thing for doing any treatment or any check-up is trust on doctors. Without trust the
treatment cannot be done properly. As he may think that each and every doctor is same
(Schwarzmüller and et.al., 2018). By helping him by performing the operation in proper
manner so that his life can be saved.
Since in multi agency working many workers work so there are many employees
working. So to help the patient I even arranged a job position for his family member. As this
would help him in case of money.
From the above incident I have learnt that while doing critical operations extra care is
to be taken. So that there should be no mistake as sometimes it can even take a person life as
well. We should diagnose the patient nicely and calmly listen to him. Communication is must
as in hasty decisions are wrong. Make the patient comfortable so that he can tell his problems
and can corporate with us. Otherwise their will be communication barrier and through this the
patient might not open up. It might sometimes end up wrongly.
It also taught me that depending on the health of the patient decisions and
communications are to be made. He should be treated firmly and not rigidly in a friendly
manner. As the technology is growing but it should be checked as their might be some issue
in the tools as well. So, fully dependent on the technology can sometime cause negative
impact. The tools and the machines are checked and updated regularly so that there is no
issue regarding the usage of the machines.
It also taught me that hygiene is must in case of health care. As it may even cause
infection to the patient which may be harmful in the long run. The place where the patient is
admitted is to be cleaned regularly. While performing the operations hygiene is must as
doctors should wash the hands. As with dirty hands germs are produced and it harm the body.
Even some doctors drink alcohol which is not good as the operation can be impacted and
even the patient does not feel comfortable. These things are to be taken care for well being of
the patients.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arnold, E.C. and Boggs, K.U., 2019. Interpersonal relationships e-book: professional
communication skills for nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Anagün, S.S., 2018. Teachers' Perceptions about the Relationship between 21st Century
Skills and Managing Constructivist Learning Environments. International Journal of
Instruction. 11(4). pp.825-840.
Ratheeswari, K., 2018. Information communication technology in education. Journal of
Applied and Advanced research. 3(1). pp.45-47.
Kane, G.C., 2017. The evolutionary implications of social media for organizational
knowledge management. Information and organization. 27(1). pp.37-46.
Guirdham, M. and Guirdham, O., 2017. Communicating across cultures at work. Bloomsbury
Publishing.
Sottilare, R.A. and et.al., 2018. Designing adaptive instruction for teams: A meta-
analysis. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. 28(2). pp.225-
264.
Jiang, Y. and Ritchie, B.W., 2017. Disaster collaboration in tourism: Motives, impediments
and success factors. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management. 31. pp.70-82.
Cook, N., 2017. Enterprise 2.0: How social software will change the future of work.
Routledge.
Alsharo, M., Gregg, D. and Ramirez, R., 2017. Virtual team effectiveness: The role of
knowledge sharing and trust. Information & Management. 54(4). pp.479-490.
Wohlers, C. and Hertel, G., 2017. Choosing where to work at work–towards a theoretical
model of benefits and risks of activity-based flexible offices. Ergonomics. 60(4).
pp.467-486.
Whysall, Z., Owtram, M. and Brittain, S., 2019. The new talent management challenges of
Industry 4.0. Journal of management development.
Oh, N. and Lee, J., 2020. Changing landscape of emergency management research: A
systematic review with bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Disaster Risk
Reduction. 49. p.101658.
Schwarzmüller, T. and et.al., 2018. How does the digital transformation affect organizations?
Key themes of change in work design and leadership. Management Revue. 29(2).
pp.114-138.
Online
Multi Agency Working. 2020 [Online]. Available Through: <
https://blog.insidegovernment.co.uk/central-and-local-government/multi-agency-
working-children-in-care>. [Accessed 10 July 2022]