Interprofessional education: The answer to better healthcare communication

by Dr. Courtney H. Lyder In a recent editorial in The New York Times, Theresa Brown wrote about how clinical hierarchies and the impact of conflict between nurses and physicians can be deadly for a patient. She said "when doctors and nurses don't get along, it's the patient who suffers." A lot of studies show that poor communication is linked to adverse patient outcomes. For example, of the 1,243 sentinel events reported to the Joint Commission in 2011, communication problems were identified in 60 percent. By its very nature, healthcare is complicated; it is a rapidly changing environment and unpredictable. Professionals from a variety of disciplines can care for a patient during a 24-hour period, which can limit the opportunities for face-to-face communication. Physicians and nurses are expected to work together, not only practicing side by side, but interacting to achieve a common goal: the health and well-being of the patient. But there are several factors that can make effective communication between nurses and physicians particularly difficult to achieve, including historic tension; conflicting viewpoints based on education, training, communication style; and terminology and existing communication processes that are inefficient at best. With the focus of healthcare moving increasingly to the team approach, it becomes even more critical for physicians and nurses to work in collaboration. Higher education institutions including UCLA and the University of Virginia, f...
Source: hospital impact - Category: Health Managers Authors: Source Type: blogs