Inter-Professional Collaboration

According to the QSEN Institute, teamwork and collaboration is working effectively within inter-professional teams which fosters open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision making (2014). Inter-professional collaboration between nurses and physicians is dependent on “individual values, beliefs, and attitudes” (Regan, Laschinger, & Wong 2016). Many times their values and beliefs are a result of learned behaviors or have been passed on from past preceptors and mentors. One of the barriers to establishing teamwork and collaboration is inter-professional conflict between doctors and nurses that occur when both have their own agenda and ideas of how care should be delivered. The heart of the conflict is feelings of inferiority of nurses or superiority (God complex) of some physicians. In order to change this diseased way of thinking, nurses and physician’s both must be willing to find common ground and work together to improve the lives of patients.
This partnership allows other members on the team such as nurses, residents, and patient care technicians to feel as though they have something to contribute and allows them to feel confident in their own knowledge, skills, and attitudes. When team members are given the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns with patient care and not be shut down they feel valued and it encourages them to look at themselves to see what actions or expressions they are communicating to the group. Open, honest communication doesn’t come without its share of conflict as it reminds the team of barriers that need to be addressed. An effective team develops strategies to improve