Barely all parts of an individual’s life require communication. Communication is generally important in ensuring everyone functions with the other or even everyone functions on their own. Communication is also important in the healthcare industry as it allows patients to communicate how they feel. On the other hand, the nurses rely on communication from the doctors regarding the treatment process they can use on any specific patient. Communication plays a significant role in maintaining trust between patients and healthcare providers. Based on the study conducted by the Joint Commission reported that poor communication contributed to 66% of Sentinel Events between 1995-2005. Poor communication has consequently contributed to medical errors within the healthcare industry, becoming one of the leading causes of death. With such medical errors causing such a significant number of deaths, it is important to understand how communication can be improved. Therefore, there is a need to examine communication and collaboration within the workplace based on different aspects.
Components for effective interpersonal communication
For effective communication to be achieved, it is important to consider interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication primarily plays a significant role in ensuring people can exchange information. Therefore, for effective interpersonal communication to be maintained, it is important to consider different components. One of those components is the context which includes the language used in the communication. For interpersonal communication to be effective, language should then be used by people can use in expressing their opinions and emotions.
Another key component of effective interpersonal communication is the sender, which generally includes the person sharing a message. There are a variety of communication methods that the sender can use, including either verbal or nonverbal communication methods. The sender is responsible for using any communication method suitable for the receiver. The idea is another key component for effective interpersonal communication which includes the information being passed forward by the sender (Chichirez & Purcărea, 2018). The medium is another critical component determining how the information is transmitted. Understanding that the medium contributes to how the receiver will receive the message is important. Therefore, the sender is always recommended to consider the urgency of the message being sent to assist in selecting the medium to transmit the message. The receiver is also part of the components for effective interpersonal communication, which includes the person receiving information from the sender.
Importance of interprofessional collaboration
Interprofessional collaboration is generally important within the healthcare sector. One of those benefits is how it generally helps improve patient care and outcomes. It is important to understand that each healthcare provider has their perspectives of a patient. That primarily includes everyone noticing different symptoms hence contributing to different treatment possibilities. Therefore, interprofessional collaboration plays a significant role in such situations to encourage team-based treatment within healthcare, resulting in improved patient care and outcomes.
Interprofessional collaboration is also important in closing communication gaps. It is important to understand that a communicative environment emerges when all healthcare providers can work together. With the development of collaboration, all healthcare providers can interact with each other personally and share different ideas about a patient’s treatment process. Another key benefit of this form of collaboration is that it contributes towards reducing medical errors. That is primarily because everyone within the healthcare sector can access all necessary information to assist in the treatment of a particular patient.
The collaboration still enables comprehensive patient care. When different healthcare providers come together, it is then important to understand that they gain the ability to have a comprehensive perspective of patient care. By the healthcare providers working together, they better understand a patient’s needs and, consequently, increase the chances of meeting those needs. It is worth noting that there is much pressure on everyone to work alone. That is why collaboration promotes a team mentality (Wei et al., 2020). By the healthcare providers working as a team, it means that each of them will have the opportunity of supporting each other.
Interprofessional collaboration still helps to make the treatment process faster. That is primarily because it contributes to eliminating potential frustration in communication delays. Therefore, collaboration helps in ensuring all healthcare providers are connected. Generally, collaboration contributes by ensuring the right information is delivered to the right people at the correct time. Additionally, the collaboration contributes by reducing inefficiencies and eliminating other healthcare costs. Part of those inefficiencies includes medical errors, which consequently play a significant role in improving patient experience. That generally plays a significant role in reducing the costs the hospitals would have incurred due to the operational inefficiencies.
Components of interpersonal communication to interprofessional collaboration
For interprofessional collaboration to succeed, it is important to emphasize interpersonal communication. Based on the interprofessional collaboration, it is worth noting that everyone is a sender and a receiver. That generally means that everyone can send any information and still receive the same information. It is also important to understand that everyone is responsible for providing feedback to one another. It is also the responsibility of everyone within the healthcare setting to be aware of their body language, which contributes to effective communication. Therefore, communication should generally be maintained professionally within any profession. It is also recommendable for the healthcare workers to communicate among themselves as it contributes towards smoothening the working process.
Promoting interprofessional collaboration
There are a variety of strategies that are used in promoting interprofessional collaboration in healthcare. One of those strategies is encouraging open communication within the healthcare setting. Most modern workplaces have been focusing on promoting open-plan workplaces rather than the previous working environment where there were walls between the healthcare providers and the patients. Such an open workspace generally plays a critical role in promoting relationships between workers through interactions. The strategy includes ensuring everyone gets involved in meetings hence promoting more transparency.
Another strategy that helps in promoting interprofessional collaboration is incorporating team-building activities. The majority of those team-building activities are normally held either before or after holding a meeting. Most team-building activities allow healthcare workers to interact with each other and develop bonds. Collaboration is also promoted through the reward and recognition strategy. It is important to understand that job performance goals are mostly at a personal level, but it is also important to have team-oriented rewards or goals. Whenever the healthcare setting emphasizes more on having team-based goals, that generally plays a significant role in making the providers with the ability to understand the importance of working as a team. Recognizing the achievements of such teams with rewards then plays a critical role in promoting the culture of teamwork. Those rewards do not necessarily have to be expensive as they can be small to show a sign of recognizance for the healthcare providers.
Interprofessional collaboration can also be promoted within the healthcare setting by sharing knowledge and insights. That can be achieved by organizing brainstorming sessions within the healthcare setting to provide the healthcare providers with opportunities of sharing ideas. Healthcare providers should be free to share ideas with each other and develop plans for achieving the required goals. The healthcare workers should also be provided with all the necessary resources to collaborate successfully. Those resources should help the healthcare providers develop their goals and plans for achieving them.
Strategies to build interprofessional teams
Different strategies can be used for a healthcare setting to effectively build interprofessional teams. One of those strategies includes everyone defining how they want to be addressed. It is important to understand that everyone feels respected whenever their names call them. It may seem unnecessary for everyone to define how they would like to be addressed; however, addressing everyone properly plays a significant role in enhancing mutual respect between the healthcare providers and the patients and consequently assist in improving communication.
Interprofessional teams can also be built by encouraging everyone to participate in patient rounding. Interprofessional rounding is considered one of the most significant approaches to enhance positive relationships between healthcare providers. That includes the physicians informing the nurses of when they will be arriving on the units as that plays a significant role in providing the nurses with an opportunity of determining how they can prioritize their nursing care while at the same time ensuring they attend the rounds. Effective interactive professional activities generally provide better healthcare and enhancetreatment process.
It is also important to emphasize ensuring all healthcare providers participate in interprofessional education opportunities to build interprofessional teams. It is worth noting that the majority of the education opportunities have already realized the different approaches that can be used in improving health for all patients while at the same time reducing or eliminating all health disparities. Therefore, participating in such education opportunities means that everyone will have the ability to bridge interprofessional gaps while at the same time improving teamwork among all healthcare providers. Additionally, all healthcare providers can learn their roles within the healthcare setting.
As part of building interprofessional teams, it is also important for healthcare facilities to focus on having smaller groups before meeting the entire interprofessional team. Some of the most significant aspects that such groups should be discussed include the patients and the respective needs of those patients. Healthcare facilities can also promote teams by ensuring healthcare providers from different departments can interact with each other and set their goals. Each of those healthcare providers should then present the team with different patient care subjects, which should be discussed among the team members.
Cultural competence
Cultural competence generally contributes to interpersonal communication and interprofessional collaboration effectiveness. Generally, everyone within the healthcare setting is part of the healthcare team. Therefore, it is important to understand that every one of those individuals has their cultural background. Despite the different cultural backgrounds, everyone needs to ensure they can communicate with each other while at the same time keeping the required level of respect for each other. Additionally, for one to be considered culturally competent, they then need to understand their patients’ cultural backgrounds. Understanding the cultural background of every patient can be overcome by ensuring everyone within the healthcare setting works with each other. All professionals within the healthcare setting need to be taught cultural competence. That can play a critical role in promoting smooth communication between professionals, resulting in better patient outcomes.
Conclusion
Communication primarily plays a critical role in the life of an individual. If an individual needs to be more capable of communicating effectively, it can be challenging for them to get along with others. The same applies to healthcare settings were the Joint Commission reported that poor communication has negatively impacted the healthcare setting. Whenever there is no effective communication within the healthcare setting, it can be challenging for healthcare providers to achieve better treatment outcomes. Healthcare providers are encouraged to communicate in a manner that fits them the most, including verbal communication or body language. Interprofessional collaboration is always important in achieving better patient care. One of the most significant strategies that should be used in promoting such collaboration is having physician rounds. Everyone within the healthcare setting has the responsibility of understanding and respecting the cultural backgrounds of each other.
References
Chichirez, C. M., & Purcărea, V. L. (2018). Interpersonal communication in healthcare. Journal of medicine and life, 11(2), 119.
Wei, H., Corbett, R. W., Ray, J., & Wei, T. L. (2020). A culture of caring: the essence of healthcare interprofessional collaboration. Journal of interprofessional care, 34(3), 324-331.
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