Inter-Professional Collaboration and Teamwork in Health Care Organizations: A Nursing Perspective

This article discusses the meaning of inter-professional collaboration from a nursing perspective, the qualities and characteristics of effective inter-professional teams, benefits and limitations of such teams, challenges of working in an inter-professional team, strategies to help people come together to function effectively as a collaborative team, and how inter-professional teams define success.

Running head: NURSING
Nursing
Name of student:
Name of university:
Author note:

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Introduction
The present article addresses the valuable topic of inter-professional collaboration and
teamwork in health care organizations. The paper would explain the meaning of the term inter-
professional collaboration from a nursing perspective. It would then describe the qualities and
characteristics of effective inter-professional teams in terms of patient safety and care. The
limitations and benefits of such teams for health care organizations, members of a team, and
patients are then presented. The next section them explains the challenges of working in an inter-
professional team. Strategies to help people come together to function effectively as a
collaborative team are then highlighted. Lastly, how inter-professional teams define success is
explained.
Inter-professional collaboration from a nursing perspective
Inter-professional collaboration from a nursing perspective refers to the collective
involvement of different healthcare professionals working with caregivers, families and patients
for communicating unique perspectives on highest quality of healthcare. Such collaboration
occurs when nurses work in association with multiple health workers from diverse professional
backgrounds for providing comprehensive and optimal quality across care settings.
Characteristics and qualities of effective inter-professional teams in terms of patient care
and safety
A collaborative team would be a small number of professionals from different
backgrounds having complementary skills and committed towards a common goal. The members
are to move towards a performance goal and have a mutual approach. Further, they are to

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provide care to a particular group of clients, and are develop objectives for patient outcomes after
mutual discussions. Appropriate functions and roles are to be assigned to them, and it is also
important that each member understands the roles of others (Tang et al., 2018).
Benefits and limitations of inter-professional teams for health care organizations, members
of a team, and patients
Regan et al., (2016) pointed out that improved inter-professional collaboration acts as a
chief strategy for reforms in healthcare. Inter-professional teams have been proved to bring
major improvements in patient outcomes including reduction of adverse drug reaction, a
decrease in mortality and morbidity rates and optimization of medication doses. Additionally,
inter-professional teams can also provide benefits pertaining to healthcare professional are work
life, such as increased job satisfaction and reduction of burden. It has been found that healthcare
organizations are in a position to gain financial benefits when professionals work effectively in
teams, leading to suitable utilization of resources. The limitation of inter-professional teams is
that there might be an inappropriate flow of information among incompetent professionals that
might impair the care delivery process. The process of team formation might also be time-
consuming depending on the scenario.
Challenges of working in an inter-professional team
Though the possible benefits of inter-professional healthcare teams have been identified,
the implementation of the same in practice is faced with a number of challenges. The most
prominent challenge might be organizational barrier like the privation of agreement on the goal
and meaning of an inter-professional teams. In addition, there might be lack of funding and
dearth of organizational support for the same. At the pre-registration level, the main constraint is

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the lack of time. Further, exchange of medical expertise among professionals might be hindered
by specific factors. In addition to organizational challenges, inter-professional might not be
possible to be set up due to legal barriers like the limited scopes of practice. Professionals might
engage in personal conflicts due to personal differences and this might hamper patient care. Lack
of trust and confidence among team members is a crucial factor (Pfaff et al., 2014).
Strategies to help people come together to function effectively as a collaborative team
The key strategy to ensure that members function effectively as a collaborative team is to
motivate them to take part in continual professional learning. Originations are to have the
provision for supporting nursing research through which professionals can gain knowledge on
the implications and benefits of collaborative teams. Further, these professionals are to be
provided with adequate training on a regular basis so that they can reduce the barriers of
interpersonal conflicts and miscommunication to exchange ideas and viewpoints.
How inter-professional teams define success
The most successful and patient-centered efforts in nursing practice would be those that
model inter-professional teamwork at every stage of care delivery. The main reason behind the
success would be based on the knowledge level of the professionals and organizational support.
Nurses interested in increasing inter-professionalism are to accept the nurse identity as part of a
team caring for the patient. Efforts are to be made to communicate with other disciplines
involved in the care process. This would aid in the identification of common goals and support a
change (Blais, 2015).

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Conclusion
The contemporary nursing practice entails highly skilled professionals who can deliver
optimal quality care. Inter-professional collaboration in the form of clinical teams has been
pointed out to be highly beneficial for ensuring best care delivery and reduction on unnecessary
healthcare costs. The benefits for the care organization, patients and professionals are far-
reaching. To ensure that inter-professional collaboration is promoted at all levels there is a need
of focusing on eliminating the challenges that come up with time through suitable strategies.

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References
Blais, K., (2015). Professional nursing practice: Concepts and perspectives. Pearson.
Pfaff, K., Baxter, P., Jack, S., & Ploeg, J. (2014). An integrative review of the factors influencing
new graduate nurse engagement in interprofessional collaboration. Journal of advanced
nursing, 70(1), 4-20.
Regan, S., Laschinger, H. K., & Wong, C. A. (2016). The influence of empowerment, authentic
leadership, and professional practice environments on nurses’ perceived interprofessional
collaboration. Journal of nursing management, 24(1).
Tang, C. J., Zhou, W. T., Chan, S. W. C., & Liaw, S. Y. (2018). Interprofessional collaboration
between junior doctors and nurses in the general ward setting: A qualitative exploratory
study. Journal of nursing management, 26(1), 11-18.