NUR 2868 R & S EXAM 3 STUDY GUIDE
Role & Scope Exam 3 Study Guide (NUR 2868)
Module 07 - Interdisciplinary Collaboration
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
Teamwork Happens Daily
The above quote comes from Helen Keller (Lash, 1980). Nurses can certainly attest to this fact,
for without teamwork and collaboration between departments, patient care would be severely
jeopardized.
Nurses work in teams every day. Nursing care on the hospital floor is supported by nurse's
aides, LPNs, RNs, who all must work together to get the daily care accomplished. But there is
often more care necessary than the nurse can provide: Respiratory, Dietary, Physical Therapy,
etc.
Who, then, assesses the need for and coordinates these care issues? The provider may or may
not have prescribed collaborative care but it often falls upon the nurse to further assess and
suggest the inclusion of interdisciplinary care. Effective interdisciplinary teams require
collaboration, which is often led by the nurse, who needs to avoid an authoritarian approach. If
team members work in an authoritarian environment, they may be hesitant to make decisions
for themselves and may fully depend upon the authoritarian leader. Creativity will be
dampened, and creativity is mandatory for team progress.
Categories of Collaborative Care
Collaborative care falls into several categories:
1. Nurse to Patient Collaboration. Nurses coordinate with patients the many issues
surrounding health promotion and disease prevention, treatment methods, lifestyle
changes, and end-of-life decisions. Even Florence Nightingale taught collaboration
with the patient, assessing what is needed or wanted.
2. Nurse-Nurse Collaboration (Intraprofessional). Nurses work in teams in hospitals,
in clinics, and in communities that provide collaboration and support in patient
caregiving. Nurses from various units, fields, and with different experiences also
collaborate: nurse managers, nurse researchers, nurse educators, advanced practice
nurses, as well as novice nurses with expert nurses! Mentoring is one example of this
collaboration. Shift "hand-offs" are also exemplars.
, 3. Interprofessional Collaboration. This is the category that often comes to mind when
thinking about collaborative care. Nurses form partnership between a team of health
providers from medicine, pharmacy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, dentistry,
social work, education, and even law. The ANA code of ethics and QSEN both address
interprofessional collaboration as an important part of nursing care.
4. Interorganizational collaboration. Nurses must be aware of and utilize resources and
information between organizations which will benefit patients at the local, national, or
global levels. Examples of this are Hospice Care at the local level, and Health Care
Consortiums at the national level.
Nurses Are at the Forefront of this Collaboration
So why are nurses at the forefront of this care system? What makes them uniquely qualified to
address this important piece of patient care?
The nurse typically knows the patient's needs best, having assessed them at the beginning of
their relationship. They have a holistic understanding of the patient and his health care wishes.
Having access to post-discharge resources, nurses often coordinate suggested plans of care.
Nurses own the attributes of professionalism, ethical behavior, and communication skills
necessary to accomplish all the goals. They also should have an understanding of, and access to,
the resources needed to formulate a partnership between patient, nurse, and the member of the
incoming team. Consider the following case:
You have worked on the medical surgical floor for ten months and have noticed the same
patient returning many times with the same problem: uncontrolled diabetes. You don't feel as
though the client understands the nature of, or the treatment for, the condition. You share this
observation with your nurse-manager who requests that "someone" assemble a team to look
closer at this problem. You have volunteered to be a member of the team. Who will you invite?
A pharmacist? A diabetic educator? A nutritionist? Why were these people selected for your
team?
Now think about the information these people will report back to you. What will you do with
this information? (Hint: remember the Nursing Process!) Develop a plan of care with your
patient, of course! You, the nurse, are uniquely qualified to disseminate this information into a
working care plan for your patient to achieve optimal health. This means you must understand
the various roles and backgrounds of each discipline with which you work. At the same time,
you may be leading teams of different disciplines of nursing. Here again, it is critical to
understand everyone's role and job description. In addition, the collaboration needed in
interdisciplinary teams cannot be created without mutual trust and respect among the members.
We each have a job to do. Nurses need to remember this when assembling interdisciplinary care
Role & Scope Exam 3 Study Guide (NUR 2868)
Module 07 - Interdisciplinary Collaboration
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."
Teamwork Happens Daily
The above quote comes from Helen Keller (Lash, 1980). Nurses can certainly attest to this fact,
for without teamwork and collaboration between departments, patient care would be severely
jeopardized.
Nurses work in teams every day. Nursing care on the hospital floor is supported by nurse's
aides, LPNs, RNs, who all must work together to get the daily care accomplished. But there is
often more care necessary than the nurse can provide: Respiratory, Dietary, Physical Therapy,
etc.
Who, then, assesses the need for and coordinates these care issues? The provider may or may
not have prescribed collaborative care but it often falls upon the nurse to further assess and
suggest the inclusion of interdisciplinary care. Effective interdisciplinary teams require
collaboration, which is often led by the nurse, who needs to avoid an authoritarian approach. If
team members work in an authoritarian environment, they may be hesitant to make decisions
for themselves and may fully depend upon the authoritarian leader. Creativity will be
dampened, and creativity is mandatory for team progress.
Categories of Collaborative Care
Collaborative care falls into several categories:
1. Nurse to Patient Collaboration. Nurses coordinate with patients the many issues
surrounding health promotion and disease prevention, treatment methods, lifestyle
changes, and end-of-life decisions. Even Florence Nightingale taught collaboration
with the patient, assessing what is needed or wanted.
2. Nurse-Nurse Collaboration (Intraprofessional). Nurses work in teams in hospitals,
in clinics, and in communities that provide collaboration and support in patient
caregiving. Nurses from various units, fields, and with different experiences also
collaborate: nurse managers, nurse researchers, nurse educators, advanced practice
nurses, as well as novice nurses with expert nurses! Mentoring is one example of this
collaboration. Shift "hand-offs" are also exemplars.
, 3. Interprofessional Collaboration. This is the category that often comes to mind when
thinking about collaborative care. Nurses form partnership between a team of health
providers from medicine, pharmacy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, dentistry,
social work, education, and even law. The ANA code of ethics and QSEN both address
interprofessional collaboration as an important part of nursing care.
4. Interorganizational collaboration. Nurses must be aware of and utilize resources and
information between organizations which will benefit patients at the local, national, or
global levels. Examples of this are Hospice Care at the local level, and Health Care
Consortiums at the national level.
Nurses Are at the Forefront of this Collaboration
So why are nurses at the forefront of this care system? What makes them uniquely qualified to
address this important piece of patient care?
The nurse typically knows the patient's needs best, having assessed them at the beginning of
their relationship. They have a holistic understanding of the patient and his health care wishes.
Having access to post-discharge resources, nurses often coordinate suggested plans of care.
Nurses own the attributes of professionalism, ethical behavior, and communication skills
necessary to accomplish all the goals. They also should have an understanding of, and access to,
the resources needed to formulate a partnership between patient, nurse, and the member of the
incoming team. Consider the following case:
You have worked on the medical surgical floor for ten months and have noticed the same
patient returning many times with the same problem: uncontrolled diabetes. You don't feel as
though the client understands the nature of, or the treatment for, the condition. You share this
observation with your nurse-manager who requests that "someone" assemble a team to look
closer at this problem. You have volunteered to be a member of the team. Who will you invite?
A pharmacist? A diabetic educator? A nutritionist? Why were these people selected for your
team?
Now think about the information these people will report back to you. What will you do with
this information? (Hint: remember the Nursing Process!) Develop a plan of care with your
patient, of course! You, the nurse, are uniquely qualified to disseminate this information into a
working care plan for your patient to achieve optimal health. This means you must understand
the various roles and backgrounds of each discipline with which you work. At the same time,
you may be leading teams of different disciplines of nursing. Here again, it is critical to
understand everyone's role and job description. In addition, the collaboration needed in
interdisciplinary teams cannot be created without mutual trust and respect among the members.
We each have a job to do. Nurses need to remember this when assembling interdisciplinary care
