Advantages And Disadvantages Of Interprofessional Health Care

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Communication and collaboration are an integral part of interprofessional health care teams. There could be possible barriers to communication and collaboration that could affect the entire team’s success. Personal values and expectation, personality differences, culture and ethnicity, and gender could affect how some individuals respond according to a patient’s care or needs(O’Daniel, 2008). For example, if someone comes from a background where they refrain from being assertive or challenging opinions openly, it could be difficult for that person to speak up if they think differently from the other team members. The differences in language and jargon can also be an obstacle to teams especially if members are not familiar with a specific type …show more content…

What I find most difficult about interprofessional care is the professional hierarchy that is often in place. When physicians have a say in a patient, other members usually do not question it or try to challenge it because that physician might not agree with it or because of their level of education. When I think of team, I think of it as if everyone is equal and anyone can state what they think is right or wrong in any situation. If physicians are not approachable or open to other ideas, it may be hard to have an equal balance of power in an interprofessional team. Another difficulty or disadvantage I see to an interprofessional team is understanding everyone’s roles in the team. I am assuming that as time goes on, everyone becomes aware of what each team member does for a patient, but I could also assume that some members put other responsibilities on your plate. For example, if there is a case where a mom is suspected of child abuse and the nurse witnesses it, it would make sense for the nurse to report it because they were a witness and mandated reporter. I have talked to my supervisor at my internship and she says that nurses usually do not report to CPS because they instead let the social worker know in order for the social worker to make the report. I assume it is because nurses have a lot patients to see during their shifts and making a CPS report could take some …show more content…

Because interprofessional teams meet and discuss the goals of the patient, it improves the care of the patients by increasing the coordination of services. There is a more efficient use of time when all the team members are on the same page and want to meet the same goal. Additionally, interprofessional team care will highly benefit patients as professionals can gather the services or resources that apply to the patient for a better quality care. Social workers make a great addition to an interprofessional health care team because social workers can help patients feel empowered when it comes to decisions made as a

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