Interdisciplinary Model Of Care

The interdisciplinary model of care is the process that includes the collaboration of different health team members working together to meet the goals of the patient. It is characterized by teamwork and communication in order to solve the measurable goals of the patient. The team members make decisions as a group to attain the best results for the patient.
I have been experienced many clinical situations where I have been able to apply the interdisciplinary of care. During one of my clinical rotations I was able to provide care to an elderly patient diagnose with cardiac problems. Since I was assigned to care for that only patient I was able to be during my whole time assisting the patient. While I was helping the patient, with meal time I noticed that the patient had difficulty swallowing and presented signs and symptoms of dysphagia. It was a really scary situation for me since I did not know how to react when the patient was choking with her food. I informed my nurse about the situation and she talked to the doctor and he made a referral with the speech therapists. The patient was assessed by the nurse first, fallowed by the doctor and speech therapist. They determined that in fact the patient had dysphagia, as a result; changes were made, such as thickening of fluids to avoid any risk of aspiration. I was glad to be part of the interdisciplinary model of care in this particular situation.