Focused Interprofessional Education Activities
Purpose: While the concept of interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is integrated in all course elements and it is expected that all learners will incorporate IPC in their patient care, the activities listed here provide direct focus on the IPC core competencies of communication, conflict management and collaboration. The intent is that learners will use these immersion activities to apply their existing theoretical knowledge about IPC and “practise” their IP competencies in a safe environment, honing their skill to a stage where they are “practice ready”.
Learning Outcomes:
Specifically, upon completion of activities, learners will be able to:
– Describe IP team dynamics, identifying roles and responsibilities of IP team members and factors that serve as barriers and facilitators to IPC.
– Reflect on their ability to develop relationships and collaborate with IP team members, identifying strengths and areas requiring improvement in nursing practice.
– Communicate to promote effective decision-making, working collaboratively with others to plan and deliver collaborative care.
– Describe core values and ethics of IPC and its functions.
Dialogue and Case-Based Seminars
Case-Based Seminars are intended to be interactive in-depth dialogues between learners and professionals revolving around actual “real life” unit-specific scenarios. Underlying values and ethics of IPC are integrated in each activity. When possible, seminars will be co-facilitated by both the clinical instructor or faculty advisor and another health care professional.
1. Communication (Weeks 1-3): This content is covered in dialogue between the clinical instructor or faculty advisor and learner. As learners become oriented to the unit in Weeks 1-3, they should share information about the unit’s communication norms and systems, asking questions such as:
• How do team members on this unit communicate with each other?
• What jargon is used?
• What is the impact of jargon use on IP communication and collaboration?
After participation in IP team meetings, learners report back to their clinical instructor or faculty advisor, and answer the following questions:
• What communication skills do you see being practiced that contribute to IPC? For example, how do IP team members listen ‘actively’?
• What communication tools does the team use in this unit?
• What hinders or facilitates IP communication in this setting?
• How does the group function to achieve its goals, e.g., is there a designated leader?
• How do team members behave, communicate, make decisions, give and respond to feedback?
• How are the patient’s ‘voice’ and goals addressed?
• What preparation did the nurse undertake prior to the IP team meeting?
• What information was expected from the learner and what information did the learner receive?
2. Conflict Seminar (Week 6): This seminar is based on a scenario of conflict that learners have experienced during this semester. Learners analyze the conflict and answer the following questions:
• What factors contribute to this conflict?
• What facilitates or hinders the resolution of this conflict?
• What could you (as a nurse in this situation) say or do to facilitate resolution?
3. Collaboration Seminar (Week 10): This seminar requires learners to review examples of collaboration from the unit and their own collaborative efforts in the preceding weeks, answering the following questions:
• How are the core values discussed earlier in the semester (e.g., accountability, respect, trust, confidentiality, integrity) translated into action on this unit?
• How does this reality compare with what I was expecting?
• How do nurses contribute to effective decision making here?
• What facilitates or hinders IPC on this unit?
• What is the impact of collaborative care on patient outcomes?
• How has my own practice changed in relation to the IP team? What do I do differently now that I didn’t do before?