Interdependence of all health care professions: A prerequisite for the provision of High-

Quality Patient Care.

Name:

Student ID No.:

Word Count: 3304

Date: April, 2024

Assignment submitted to the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Partial Fulfilment

of an

M.Sc in Clinical Health Science Education & MSc Nursing

Introduction..................................................................................................................................................1
Defining High Quality Patient Care...........................................................................................................2
Introducing Interdisciplinary Collaboration............................................................................................4
Addressing Communication and Collaboration Challenges....................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................11
References...................................................................................................................................................14
Introduction

High-quality healthcare provision in addition to efficient treatment, is a basic goal of healthcare

systems across the globe. The mutual dependence of different healthcare professionals is a

prerequisite for achieving this goal of healthcare delivery. This project aims to investigate the

dynamic relationships between different healthcare professionals in a critical manner, with an

emphasis on emergency nursing practice in China.

The central idea of our study is pivoted on the notion that all healthcare providers, regardless of

their roles and responsibilities, are essential to providing high-quality care. Every profession be it

physicians, nurses, pharmacists or therapists, they bring their expertise and perspectives together

for the provision of high-quality care to the patients (Stavropoulou et al., 2022). Especially in

case of emergency care prompt response and collaboration amongst these healthcare

professionals is essential for delivering efficient patient care.

There are two main objectives of this assignment. First, defining high-quality patient care and its

provision under Chinese national and local health policies. Identification of ideas and numerous

ways through which the patient healthcare outcomes can be improved. In addition, the

importance of interdisciplinary cooperation in putting these ideas into practice will be

highlighted with stress on effective communication between medical experts.

Secondly, this study will explore the usefulness of interdisciplinary teamwork in the emergency

nursing setting. An in depth understanding of the components that contribute to the efficient

team work will be achieved through an examination of the conflicts amongst team members,

difficulties faced by them during the healthcare provision process, and their achievements. The

findings from the literature will be integrated with real case studies from nursing practice in

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China. This will outline the best practices and strategies which support the greatest possible

patient care outcomes.

This assignment will help researching the ways using which various healthcare professions

collaborate to enhance patient care. The relationship between health regulations,

interprofessional teamwork, and real-world emergency nursing experiences will be examined.

This information should come in handy for improving quality healthcare provision in China and

other countries.

Defining High Quality Patient Care

High quality patient care is provided through combined efforts of a team that comprises of

clinicians, health care professionals, patients, and their families (Edgman-Levitan &

Schoenbaum, 2021). Every decision made prioritizes patients' needs and wants where by the

patients themselves take active part in their own care using the information and assistance, they

receive during their treatment process (Beaulieu et al., 2014).

High-quality patient care is a concept that goes beyond clinical achievement. Analyzing quality

and quantity of the care being provided especially in the emergency department highlights

factors that create exceptional health outcomes (Dixon, 2021). Improving healthcare quality is

the main aim of Chinese national and local policies. With changing needs of the healthcare

scenarios while new diseases erupt on the horizon, implementation of new healthcare practices,

such as digital health, led to development of stronger strategies along with their implementation

through effective policies (Dreiher at al., 2020). Although ongoing progress is ensured via

regular assessments and feedback from healthcare team members and policy makers so that

future plans can be reshaped (Tan ,2023).

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Factors like patient-centeredness, safety, efficacy, and adherence to evidence-based procedures

are directly associated to high-quality patient care whenever health policies are evaluated

(Mihajlo Jakovljević et al., 2023). China's national health policy preset certain benchmarks and

specific indicators that healthcare professionals must reach, like decreasing wait times

specifically in emergency departments. This will in turn lower the incidence of medical errors

thereby improving quality of patient care (Tan, 2023). Furthermore, these policies emphasize the

value of coordinated efforts of medical professionals promoting multidisciplinary cooperation to

provide the best possible treatment for patients. For example, when a cancer patient comes for

palliative care in the emergency department, lower wait time in addition to collaboration of the

oncology department, diagnostic and radiology departments along with the emergency

department medical professionals being extremely vigilant can ensure provision of high-quality

patient care.

Another aspect of high-quality patient care includes the patient experience and the results of care

provided. It is imperative for the care providers to keep empathy for patients in order to develop

good communication while honoring patient choices so that the patient can participate in the

decision-making process (Chang et al., 2023). The healthcare professional is required to have

correct clinical interventions apart from compassionate support for patients and their families

depending upon the complexity of the presenting diseases. For example, any terminally ill

patient must be kept well informed about his condition so that he can make the right choice while

choosing the treatment option whether to opt for surgery or stay with the oral medications.

In addition to the efficient healthcare providers, effective resource and service coordination are

essential for providing high-quality treatment in the emergency room. Incases when patient

comes for the first time for treatment, quick assessment and diagnosis is only possible through

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streamlined workflows, excellent communication amongst healthcare team members so that the

treatment plan can be devised in a timely manner (Chen & Liu, 2023). Incorporation of

technology, such as telemedicine and electronic health records can improve information

exchange and care coordination (Zhang et al., 2022).

Overall, national or local policies frameworks must address all the above-mentioned aspects as

their implementation is the key to success of healthcare being provided and maintaining the

quality of healthcare. Healthcare professionals can maximize patient outcomes in emergency

nursing in China by overcoming traditional barriers and fostering mutual respect for each other

while maintaining open communication for shared accountability that is outlined by the health

policies (Tan, 2023).

Introducing Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Interdisciplinary cooperation is essential for delivering high-quality patient care in emergency

nursing practice. This is particularly important in cases of patients presenting with fatal diseases

and conditions like cancer, organ failure, roadside accidents, etc. The combined efforts of

medical specialists from numerous professions, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and

therapists ensure that prompt and timely treatment and care is provided to the patients (Bosch &

Mansell, 2015).

A cohesive patient care involves collaborative teamwork rather than individual efforts and

accountability. This collaboration can be made more effective by appreciating the distinct

contributions made by each healthcare practitioner while accepting shared goals and

accountability for the well-being of patients (Haraldseid-Driftland et al., 2022). A complete

treatment includes addressing patients' emotional, psychological, and social needs in addition to

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their presenting medical condition. This is achievable multidisciplinary cooperation. A more

holistic approach to healthcare provision is adopted where patients receive more comprehensive

and efficient care by using team's combined knowledge through their experiences.

For example, when an old patient with complicated medical history like hypertension, diabetes,

dementia, arthritis and hysterectomy is brought to emergency department presenting a fractured

bone, the collaboration of medical professionals plays a critical role. Contribution of each team

member and sharing of information along with access to old medical records will help devise a

treatment plan apart from the immediate care that patient requires for the fractured bone. Support

is also required from diagnostic department, therapeutics and administrative policies. In such

scenarios, interdisciplinary teams improve clinical outcomes, reduce complications and avoid

errors in medication, there by raising standard of care provided with shared responsibility and

accountability (Geese & Schmitt, 2023).

Adaptability and innovative thinking is also required when a patient’s requirements for

treatments changes with time, and this could be done when there is collaboration between

different departments. All professionals with their diverse skillset can creatively devise specific

treatment procedures in case of new or emerging patient’s condition. Teams which are better in

sync with each other handles these situations effectively and guarantees proper patient care

(McLaney et al., 2022).

Effective interdisciplinary cooperation ensures smooth transfer of a patient between different

healthcare locations and continuity of their care. Teams from different departments form a

liaison through strong communication and care coordination systems (Gantayet-Mathur et al.,

2022) to provide transfers which make sure that patient receives coordinated and well-structured

interventions, resulting in improved health outcomes.

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Real-world benefits of interdisciplinary teamwork may be found in a study published in the

"Journal of Emergency Nursing," which clarified its beneficial impact on patient outcomes in the

emergency department (ED) of a nearby hospital. A transformed high quality patient care model

can be drafted for patients struggling with addictive disorders where by the whole healthcare

team comprising of doctors, nurses, and social workers collaborate to highlight the benefits of

transformation of the patient (Steihaug et al., 2018).

Individual comprehensive treatment plans must be devised to cater to special individual needs of

the patient suffering from substance abuse. Such plans require healthcare professionals from

different disciplines collaborate and exchange their ideas and expertise (Wang et al., 2023).

Doctors contribute their clinical knowledge and interventions; pharmacists bring their experience

in medicines and their side and adverse effects and nurses provide their holistic patient care plans

and monitoring. This collaborative effort of the healthcare team improved patient outcomes and

brought a notable decrease in patient readmission rates. This indicated that patient care plan and

therapy implemented through interdisciplinary effort improved efficacy in the longer run.

Similarly, these therapies reduced the relapse episodes and treatment associated problems

amongst patients getting care under this strategy (Gantayet-Mathur et al., 2022).

This coordinated joint effort of healthcare team also improved patient satisfaction ratings.

Patients felt supported, heard, empowered and involved in their treatment which gave them

confidence in their health and hence, they appreciated this well-coordinated holistic care

provided by the interdisciplinary team. Such care plans also ensured individualized attention to

patient needs and symptoms, which boosted the morale of the patients. Combined efforts resulted

in efficient distribution of the resources as well.

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The emergency department is a place where such collaborated efforts are more imperative than

anywhere else in the hospital settings. Hospitals when bring together the professionals from

various disciplines, they can ensure that high quality of treatment and care is provided to patients

with substance addiction problems. A team is better able to successfully handle complex

healthcare difficulties by leveraging the experience and resources of multiple healthcare

professionals rather than a single individual providing care. Patient outcomes and improved

healthcare can be maximized by promoting the culture of cooperation and shared responsibility

within healthcare teams (Gao et al., 2022).

Multidisciplinary Trauma teams comprising of emergency doctors, trauma surgeons, nurses, and

radiologists collaborate to the care being provided to patients with critical injuries in the setting

of local emergency nursing practice. The standard operative procedures in emergency

department and clinical protocols allow the trauma team to be fast-tracked by streamlining

communication and optimized resource allocation. Such collaborations are carried out through

effective training sessions, interdisciplinary meetings to exchange information, and shared

decision-making processes. These improve the patient outcomes and death rates (Guo et al.,

2023).

In emergency nursing practice interdisciplinary collaboration possess numerous advantages but

can present difficulties and conflicts, which require efficient rectifications. One of the important

challenges is hierarchical systems combined with conventional roles within healthcare teams

may make it difficult for people to collaborate and communicate effectively (Wang et al., 2023).

Doctors being influential in the healthcare system due to their knowledge expertise may

unintentionally reduce the contributions of other team members, like nurses and paramedical

staff. This can strain relations and prevent joint decision-making.

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Moreover, interdisciplinary collaboration may be made more difficult by differences in the

professional cultures, training, and experience across healthcare fields. Sharing information and

coordinated care can be made difficult due to variations in language, communication methods,

and therapeutic philosophies, which could eventually jeopardize patient results and safety (Kaini,

2022). Healthcare team members must be dedicated to creating an environment of open

communication, respect for one another, and shared accountability in order to overcome these

hurdles.

In emergency nursing practice, interdisciplinary teamwork can be improved for improving

patient care outcomes irrespective of the challenges that are faced. Healthcare professionals can

collaborate using the distinctive abilities of each healthcare team member for delivering timely

patient-centered care. Additionally, advancement in clinical practice can be brought about by

interdisciplinary collaboration promotes creativity, innovation, and ongoing learning, which

advances clinical practice and the provision of healthcare.

Addressing Communication and Collaboration Challenges

There are numerous disadvantages apart from potential benefits of interdisciplinary teamwork

for improving patient outcomes in emergency nursing practice. The ability to effectively

communicate and collaborate between healthcare professionals from various disciplines is one of

the biggest challenges. An honest culture of mutual respect is fostered to overcome this

challenge, so that the communication and respect are sustained and team workers share the

accountability for high quality healthcare provision (Guo et al., 2023).

When it comes to the effect of traditionally defined roles of individual healthcare team members

that are deeply rooted in the hierarchical systems within healthcare system, this results in a

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communication barrier. According to this theory, doctors possess the main decision-making

authority as they are at the top of the hierarchy in healthcare system (Steihaug et al., 2018). This

traditional power dynamic handed over to doctors through the hierarchical structure undermines

the contributions of other healthcare team members like nurses, pharmacists, radiologists, etc.

Doctors are at an advantage because of their clinical knowledge and expertise and hence, their

impact on decisions about patient care is more pronounced and crucial. They are bearers of more

responsibility and accountability so their opinions and suggestions hold more weight than other

healthcare team members. This is another traditional role dictated by the hierarchical system that

demotivates other team members such as nurses and therapists to express their thoughts or offer

suggestions. They remain silent for fear of being ignored or superseded.

The hierarchical connotations leave a negative impact on the healthcare team impeding tehir

collaboration and teamwork. Other team members feel discouraged due to the prevailing

dissatisfaction resulting in low morale because feeling neglected or underappreciated can break

down communication and collaboration. Furthermore, this casts an undesirable effect on the

standard of patient care decreasing to lower level when members other than doctors are reluctant

to agree or disagree with choices made in the patient care plan by doctors (Steihaug et al., 2016).

For example, this hierarchical barrier may impact the confidence of a nurse in emergency room

who doubts a medication error and then doesn’t report it to the attending doctor just for the fear

of being unheard or under the impression of power play, can disastrously affect the patient care.

Similarly, a therapist may feel reluctant to share his opinion about patient's rehabilitation plan

under the same impression of doctor’s authority. Such is the impact of hierarchical organizations

on the information sharing and collaboration of healthcare team members. These hierarchical

structures must be eliminated for overcoming this issue so that a collaborative and respectful
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culture must be promoted. Active engagement of every team member should be encouraged to

for sharing their ideas in team meetings (Kwame & Petrucka, 2021). Importance of value and

utilization of the knowledge of every team member, regardless of their role in the healthcare

team should be stressed by leadership in healthcare system.

Healthcare professionals come from diverse backgrounds which leads to inherent differences in

training, experience, and professional cultures resulting in communication barriers. Their

backgrounds shape their set of practices, exposure, and knowledge which may be different from

other members. Communication methods and treatment techniques are affected by this variation

in training, experience, exposure and working ethic (Sheehan et al., 2021). Interdisciplinary

teams' ability to exchange information and ideas is compromised due to the persistence of these

gaps, hence, addressing them is of prime importance for effective communication.

For instance, these differences lead to misunderstandings when it comes to certain discipline-

specific vocabulary and terminologies used by nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and therapists

resulting in confusion while providing care to the patient. This could eventually jeopardize

patient safety and health outcomes. The situation could be further worsened if there are

differences in communication styles like assertiveness vs deference or directness versus

indirectness. The entire team needs ot be on the same page when it comes to communication for

the delivery of meticulous patient care plan.

Furthermore, administrative differences which could either be in clinical protocols or standard

operating procedures for treatment may hinder coordination in interdisciplinary teamwork among

medical departments. For example, doctors main focus in the interventions used for treatment

guided by the treatment protocol, whereas nurses concentrate patient centered holistic

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interventions. These conflicting perspectives set varying priorities for the healthcare team

members resulting in lowered standard of patient care. (Dietl et al., 2023).

The gaps that have been identified will help in developing standardized communication

procedures among interdisciplinary teams including clinical training and education. Mutual

respect can eb inculcated through interprofessional training so that they understand each other’s’

roles, responsibilities, and perspectives across the healthcare department (Sheehan et al., 2021).

For example, collaboration can be promoted through role-playing games, seminars, and

workshops. These also encourage team members to respect one another.

To achieve uniformity in provision of high-quality healthcare, I-PASS (Illness severity, Patient

summary, Action list, Situation awareness and contingency planning, Synthesis by receiver) or

SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) standardized communication

protocols used by healthcare departments to improve effective communication among

interdisciplinary team members. This lays down a standardized framework for exchanging

patient information, their medical records, discussion on their treatment options, and arranging

care. These procedures lower the occurrence of mistakes due to miscommunications. For

instance, in a critical care case, when reliable patient information and medical records are shared

rapidly amongst doctors and nurses, a more comprehensive treatment plan for better patient

outcomes is devised, credit goes to the SBAR protocol. A culture of transparency, dignity and

collaboration apart from best clinical education and standard operating procedures, need to be

developed and sustained so that communication barriers amongst multidisciplinary healthcare

team are overcome

Conclusion

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This assignment highlights the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in the context of

emergency nursing practice in China in order to deliver high-quality treatment to patients.

Healthcare professionals, be it doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and/or therapists, can prioritize

interdisciplinary team work to enhance patient outcomes based on the standardized frameworks

developed by healthcare delivery systems. This has been illustrated in the assignment by

identifying and describing the issue sand challenges, exploring the possible solutions, and the

advantages cooperative teamwork and efficient communication can bring to maximize high-

quality patient care.

The interdisciplinary collaboration in the emergency nursing department leads to prompt

decisions and care being provided to the patients especially when complex medical interventions

are required. By cooperating and collaborating, multiple perspectives and expertise of various

medical professionals along with resources are brought together by the interdisciplinary teams

for effective and efficient management of emergency patients and situations. This collaborative

approach creates a sense of accountability and responsibility as devised through protocols of the

departments and results in providing holistic patient care where patient is the center.

Moreover, good communication along with fostering mutual respect culture amongst

interdisciplinary healthcare team members acts as a spark for high-quality care provision. The

uninterrupted and prompt sharing of information and medical records of the patients,

perspectives on treatment options and insights are made possible by open, transparent, and clear

communication channels. Healthcare professionals successfully coordinate care interventions

and make well-informed decisions using all the shared data. Trainings, workshops, seminars

organized by healthcare departments can enhance interdisciplinary collaboration and improve

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patient outcomes. These trainings improve their communication skills, cultivate a respectful and

attentive culture, and implements uniform communication procedures and clinical protocols.

In the future, strategically devising healthcare policies so that they can plan research projects

targeted at strengthening interdisciplinary cooperation along with ensuring implementation of

standard operating procedures so that uniform high-quality care is assured to be provided across

the country. Healthcare professionals should utilize technological interventions so that patient

information is readily available, create a culture of mutual respect and open communication,

overcome the barriers and challenges that hinder uniformity and quality of patient care to

advance the practice of emergency nursing in China. Besides, healthcare professionals,

healthcare institutions can also work to accomplish the shared goal of offering holistic patient-

centered care.

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