| Theme: 5JJ Interprofessional education 2 | |||
 |
 |
|||||
| Development of interprofessional communication skills in nursing students: a qualitative research |
 |
|||||
|
||||||
Collaboration promotion between health professionals requires competencies to improve interprofessional communication, in order to achieve a holistic approach in response to patients' needs[1,2].
Objective
Aim of this study is to explore nursing students’ experience of interprofessional communication during academic educational pathways to provide information for training curriculum development.
Methods
The study was conducted using a qualitative phenomenological approach via the Giorgi method[3]. A purposive sample of third year students of the nursing degree course of Turin University were involved. Subjects were interviewed using semi-structured interviews.
Thirty subjects were interviewed. Four themes emerged: The actors of interprofessional communication skills: many professionals and different ways of interacting, The factors for a successful interprofessional communication, The other side of the coin: when interprofessional communication does not work, The value of training for the development of interprofessional communication.
Theme 1. The actors of interprofessional communication skills: many professionals and different ways of interacting
|
Essential elements |
Respondents’ answers |
|
Subjectivity of interprofessional communication |
“At Drug Service, I collaborated with doctors , psychologists, social educators and social worker" “The physical therapist tries to communicate with the nurse, but nurse told him: “the patient is in that room, go and move him”. There isn’t exchange” |
|
Privileged relations between students |
“There were other trainees, both medical and nursing, and wth them there was mutual exchange of information. It was a very good thing” |
Theme 2. The factors for a successful interprofessional communication
|
Essential elements |
Respondents’ answers |
|
Knowledge and experience |
“Now, I have more knowledges, more experience, so I can interact in a better way, that is I can base what I say on something firm, solid” |
|
Professional attitude |
“When other professionals recognize your professional skills, they treat you like a colleague and interprofessional communication works well” |
|
Moments of comparison |
“In Nephrology there were moments of briefing with physicians, which are very useful because you know everything about that patient” |
|
Serene context, accessibility and proximity |
[At Drug Service] there was a collaborative environment. Doctor and nurse worked in the same room, right together” |
Theme 3. The other side of the coin: when interprofessional communication does not work
|
Essential elements |
Respondents’ answers |
|
Hierarchical relationships and rivalries |
“In Gynecology, doctor was the undisputed leader and nursing students were material executors. Communication was strictly aimed to perform the tasks, but not to confront” |
|
Fear and awe |
“At first, doctors made me very anxious, also because they were often our teachers” |
|
Organizational problems |
“In Medicine, we had to detect vital parameters to every patient and the only relationship with doctor was to dictate the parameters” |
Theme 4. The value of training for the development of interprofessional communication
|
Essential elements |
Respondents’ answers |
|
Theory and practice |
“The internship is like a gym where you put into practice the theory on interprofesional communication that you have learned in classroom” |
|
Didactic interprofessional communication |
“The anesthesiologist looked after us very well and I was amazed that she asked us to help her to place a central venous catheter” |
|
Training proposals |
“In the classroom, it would be useful to attend integrated lessons with students of different disciplines and have from the beginning informations about the roles of other health professionals” |
Inter-professional communication between different health care providers is not uniform and related to the subjectivity of the person. Elements for a successful inter-professional communication are knowledge and experience, professional attitude, moments of comparison and context. Hierarchical relationships, rivalries, fear, awe and organizational problems are barriers to effective inter-professional communication. Interdisciplinary communication skills are formed in the classroom, but they develop in training periods through interactions with other professionals.
Conclusion
The study highlighted the need for including a specific training in inter-professional communication in the undergraduate courses, following available positive experiences.
The planning of an interprofessional communication in basic course could improve communication and collaboration between different professionals in the health care delivery process.
We would like to give a thanks to all the students who collaborated for the successful realization of the study.
References
1.Reeves S, Perrier L, Goldman J, Freeth D, Zwarenstein M. Interprofessional education: effects on professional practice and healthcare outcomes (update). CochraneDatabase Syst Rev 2013;3:1-22
2.Zwarenstein M, Rice K, Gotlib-Conn L, Kenaszchuk C, Reeves S. Disengaged: a qualitative study of communication and collaboration between physicians and other professions on general internal medicine wards. Health Serv Res 2013;13:1-9
3.Giorgi A. Toward phenomenologically based research in psychology. J Phenomenol Psychol 1970;1:75-98
Post your comments
Send Email