Inter-Professional Practice
The healthcare department involves the interaction of individuals from different professions. The competencies by the various individuals are essential in the overall success of activities in the clinic. As a pharmacy student, the competencies from nurses, laboratory technicians, and physicians are crucial in solving the medical dilemmas that occur daily at the clinic. Some of the crucial competencies required from the nurses and physicians and nurses include medical care and prescriptions. The laboratory technician is also needed where specific tests are required for efficient treatment. The four competencies proposed by inter-professional education are essential in the operation of professions in situations that require the input of professionals from different fields.
The occurrence of healthcare situations that require the intervention of more than one profession is common. One such occurrence happened when a patient visited the clinic with severe abdominal pains and high fever. The patient reported having visited an area that had been known to have several cases of typhoid. At the physician’s position, concluding that the patient was suffering from typhoid without carrying out the necessary tests would be unprofessional. Therefore, the physician had to send the patient to the nurse for a series of sample tests and engaged me at the pharmacist’s position concerning the various medications and prescriptions that would be efficient in dealing with the patient’s condition. After the nurse had sent the samples to the lab, the patient was diagnosed with typhoid, and an examination was done before the medication was started. Generally, the interaction with the other professionals gave me a better overview of the IPE competencies as we were able to learn from each other.
Healthcare practice relies on the adherence to the four competencies proposed by IPE as well as the sub-competencies defined by the Inter-Professional Educational Collaborative (IPEC). The first competence learned and applied in the case is the maintenance of mutual working climate and shared values (Collaborative, 2016). The cooperation between the pharmacist, nurse, and physician was essential in ensuring that the patient eventually recovered from his condition. Secondly, the use of my role as a pharmacist and the professional roles of the physician and the nurse was essential in improving the health condition of the patient. Also, the communication between families, patients, communities, and other professionals is required to improve the overall health condition of the populations. For example, communication with the patient brought out the possibility of typhoid infection, which was eventually diagnosed. Also, the healthcare facility was notified of the typhoid risk in the victim’s home, and urgent steps are taken to avoid an outbreak. Besides, the positive relationships with the other professionals ensure that everyone carries out their roles with zeal and energy to ensure the success of the overall process. Moreover, the interaction between professionals is a learning experience for all the parties involved.
The case of the typhoid patient was an eye-opener that showed how the interaction between professionals is a learning experience for the parties involved. A professional is always willing to help whenever they are called upon, and one should not shy from asking for help (Epstein & Hundert, 2002). The knowledge of professionals’ willingness to help was learned when I went to the physician to consult him concerning the medical prescription for typhoid. The physician did not take my limited knowledge as incompetence but instead offered to assist me in dealing with the case that was presented to me. Besides, my little experience in the pharmacist’s role was responsible since I had not interacted with complex health issues, and I still needed time to learn the various medications for different health issues. The other professionals were also happy to learn of my confidence in dealing with emergency cases, and I was determined to help them overcome challenges that come with emergencies. Moreover, barriers are common in inter-professional practice, especially where training is not sufficient.
The inter-professional practice is subject to a series of barriers ranging from organizational to individual. Individual barriers may include a lack of training to employees and confusion in terms of service delivery (Wald et al. 2012). The barriers are, however, more evident at the individual level. First, I have found myself having to undertake multiple roles in the name of promoting inter-professional care. Also, some challenges, such as gender and racial difficulties, come up where other professionals take advantage of one’s gender or race to force responsibilities. The need to carry out multiple roles leaves professionals struggling to carry out their responsibilities efficiently. Besides, other professionals may only expect an individual to assist in carrying out roles without considering their emotions. Generally, the issue of inter-professional interaction is subject to a set of barriers that limit the success of an individual.
In sum, inter-professional practice is based on various competencies that are specified by the inter-professional education. The success of a field depends on the interaction of professionals since roles are interrelated, and individuals are required to go beyond their profession to help other professionals. Generally, an individual who considers the various competencies eventually becomes successful and helps other professionals in their roles.
References
Collaborative, I. E. (2016). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: 2016 update. Washington, DC: Interprofessional Education Collaborative, 1-9.
Epstein, R. M., & Hundert, E. M. (2002). Defining and assessing professional competence. Jama, 287(2), 226-235.
Wald, H. S., Borkan, J. M., Taylor, J. S., Anthony, D., & Reis, S. P. (2012). Fostering and evaluating reflective capacity in medical education: developing the REFLECT rubric for assessing reflective writing. Academic Medicine, 87(1), 41-50.