Interprofessional Collaboration Analysis

1906 Words4 Pages

Interprofessional collaboration, interprofessional education, and integrated service delivery models are becoming more frequently utilized by social systems. Collaboration amongst professionals is touted as a vital method for cultivating positive outcomes, client safety, and service delivery cohesion while addressing human and economic resource deficits (Baldwin, 1996; Reeves & Freeth, 2002; Wee, Hillier, Coles, Mountford, Sheldon, & Turner, 2001). While not explicitly recognized, group work and group processes are the underpinning of interprofessional collaboration. Interprofessional collaboration can be structured as an educational, therapy, psychoeducational, task, support, self-help, community organizing, or empowerment/liberation group (Furman, Bender, & Rowan, 2014) depending on its purpose. A brief review of literature and research highlights the limited works uniting group work theory and approaches to interprofessional practice. San Martín-Rodríguez, Beaulieu, D’Amour, and Ferrada-Videla (2005) emphasize interactional, organizational, and systemic themes as the determinants of successful interprofessional collaboration. These themes are discussed in the context of effective group process then linked to social work practice, a context for inclusive collaboration, and achieving organizational outcomes. Determinants of Successful Interprofessional Collaboration According to San Martín-Rodríguez et al. (2005), interactional, organizational, and systemic determinants serve as the framework for successful interprofessional collaboration. Interactional determinants are evident at the micro or individual level of collaboration and group work. These elements focus on interpersonal and individual characteristics required... ... middle of paper ... ...s a means to experience augmented power and status. Power and privilege inequalities and perceptions within interdisciplinary teams warrant further consideration. Baker, Egan-Lee, Martimianakis, and Reeves (2011) used Witz’s Model of Professional Closure (1992) as a lens through which they examined power dynamics within interprofessional collaboration. Witz’s Model of Professional Closure examines four categories of closure strategies and the interactions between them. The strategies are identified as (a) exclusionary, (b) demarcationary, (c) inclusionary, and (d) dual closure. Table 1 outlines how professional power corresponds with Witz’s model and is followed by a diagram of Witz’s Model of Professional Closure. This visual allows for indication of directional power between professions to further illustrate the hierarchy between disciplines in practice.

Open Document