Main discussion

Instructions:

Read two of your colleagues’ postings from the Discussion question.

Respond with a comment that asks for clarification, provides support for, or contributes additional information to two of your colleagues.

Timia Brown ( She/Her)

In healthcare, whether long-term or acute care, interdisciplinary communication is necessary to provide patient-centered care. The two scenarios provided both effective and ineffective communication.  

Scenario 1 

Assuming the leader for the interdisciplinary rounds was the case manager, she introduced the nursing student, who was not paying attention. The case manager did not present other team members, so the student was left guessing. The pharmacist and the physical therapist were laughing and talking during the discussion. There was no engagement; the MD was on her phone, and everyone was preoccupied. Each team member individually knew the patient and his shortcomings, yet there was no preparation for the actual engagement with each other. Each team member projected issues onto the next member, using terms such as "somebody" or "someone" needed to do this. There was no responsibility for care. The team spoke unprofessionally to each other, using words like "yep" and "umm." In the end, the case manager assigned responsibility; however, the disciplines accepted the responsibility grudgingly. The team's disrespect for each other was portrayed to the student, who was disengaged throughout the meeting. The patient was not ready to be discharged from the sound of this scenario. The patient's pain was not controlled, nor was his anxiety; no equipment had been ordered for discharge. The patient's safety was not a priority in this meeting, which could lead to readmission or fall risk at home. 

In scenario two, the team all appeared happy to be there, with smiling faces and excellent eye contact. The leader engaged the nursing student immediately by having the team introduce themself. The team was much more prepared and engaged. Each member respected the other's role in providing care and a safe, patient-centered discharge. The team took responsibility for what was needed from each of them now and at the time of release. The communication was more two-way communication. They did a recap of what was discussed, and everyone willingly took part in making sure the patient went home safely and confidently.  

Effective communication between interdisciplinary teams must be present to provide the care needed for each patient. It starts with respecting each other's role in the patient's care and remembering the patient is the priority. The  Journal of Communication in Healthcare stated the leading cause of all sentinel events from 1995 to 2004 was ineffective communication. (2019, Altabba) Therefore effective communication could decrease the number of incidents, and lead to proper care. 

 

 

References

Altabbaa G, Kaba A, Beran TN. Moving from structured communication to collaboration: a communication schema for interprofessional teams.  Journal of Communication in Healthcare. 2019;12(3/4):160-169. doi:10.1080/17538068.2019.1675427