VII. Interprofessional Collaboration for Improving Patient and Population Health Outcomes (AACN, 2011)
"As members and leaders of interprofessional teams, the master’s-prepared nurse will actively communicate, collaborate, and consult with other health professionals to manage and coordinate care across systems" (AACN, 2011, p. 23). As the master's prepared nurse, multidisciplinary teamwork is a key concept in providing efficient patient care. My personal belief is that healing takes places when every member of the healthcare team is on the same page to meet patient goals. In the past, I have worked with many members of the multidisciplinary team including respiratory therapists, child life therapists, case managers, and etc. The world sometimes forgets that the healthcare team isn't just made up of physicians and nursing staff. I met this module through working with case management during my rotation at the Tri cities St. Jude's Affiliate Clinic.
Another important part of being an APRN is always striving to make sure that there are no potential language barriers when providing care to patients. I met this essential through doing a class project on language interpreters used at the current hospital I was employed at. In a journal entry I was able to integrate physical, psychosocial, and cultural assessment skills to screen for developmental delays. Based on the physical and objective data from the visit, I was able to determine that the child needed a referral to TES and speech/occupation therapy. Lastly, I worked with pediatric surgery in the diagnosis of a patient with acute appendicitis.
I first met this essential by interviewing a case manager at the Tri Cities St. Jude's Affiliate Clinic. I never knew how much work went into being a case manager until I completed this project. This case manager went above and beyond for every patient in the clinic from arranging transportation to assessing their everyday needs. Case managers are important members of the multidisciplinary care team. As a masters prepared nurse, I value the importance of working with case management to make sure my patient's needs are being met not just physically but on a holistic level.
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Case Management
Another way I met this essential was by evaluating the CLAS Standard Communication and Language Access in the pediatric GI clinic I currently work in. The APRN should be sure to offer language assistance to individuals who have limited English proficiency and/or other communication needs, at no cost to them, to facilitate timely access to all healthcare and services. Healthcare providers should demonstrate a greater awareness
to patient values, preferences, and cultural values.
Cultural Competency Exploration
In a journal entry for my pediatric growth and promotion clinicals I used community resources such as TEIS for a patient presenting with delayed milestones. This week I was able to integrate physical, psychosocial, and cultural assessment skills to screen for developmental delays. Based on the physical and objective data from the visit, my preceptor and I were able to determine that the child needed a referral to TES and for speech/occupation therapy. An important responsibility for the APRN is to assess the needs for each patient and deliver those services based on the patient's needs.
Journal Entry
Finally, I met this essential by recognizing that an important part of being a master's prepared nurse is knowing when to recognize the need to refer a patient to a specialty provider. In this journal entry, I wrote about a young girl that was seen in primary care presenting with mild appendicitis symptoms. I followed my gut instincts and sent the patient for an appendix ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that the appendix was mildly inflamed. The patient was not in severe pain, but my preceptor and I decided to follow our intuition and clinical judgement and refer her to pediatric surgery. This ultimately was the best decision due to the fact the patient showed up in the ER two days later in severe pain and her appendix was later taken out laparoscopically. In this situation, I consulted with pediatric surgery and listened to my patient and her mother. Sometimes even when clinical symptoms just don't add up; the provider's intuition can prove more useful and help save the patient from further complications.
Journal Entry
Strengths
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Weaknesses
My strengths include being able to easily collaborate and communicate with other members of the multidisciplinary team. By integrating other members of the healthcare team such as PT, speech therapy, and case management, clinical prevention and health promotion is enhanced. The masters prepared nurse should seek to form open and trusting relationships with other members of the healthcare team to enhance patient care.
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My weaknesses include finding resources in our region to help children with special needs such as autism and mental health. During my time in the PNP program at King, the issue of having limited mental health resources was a major problem in our area of Northeast, Tennessee. As a future APRN, I will address this issue in practice and seek ways to help improve pediatric mental health by reaching out to psychiatrists and counselors in our region. By forming a multidisciplinary approach, pediatric mental health may no longer be a trend in the primary care setting.