Multidisciplinary Teams & Interdisciplinary Education

There is no clear consensus on a precise definition of teamwork in healthcare as the terms multiprofessional, multidisciplinary and interprofessional working are used interchangeably within the literature of health and social care. While multidisciplinary teamwork is viewed as one of the key processes through which care is managed, working in a multidisciplinary team requires many skills, which involves understanding not only one’s own role, but also the role of other professionals (Atwal & Caldwell, 2006). It is through learning together in interprofessional education events that individuals from varied disciplines are able to truly maximize the potential of the multidisciplinary team, and be able to realize how individuals, and their respective disciplines, can optimize collaborative care as a team with an aligned focus on shared care goals.  

Definitions  

Multidisciplinary team: Multidisciplinary working refers more readily to a group of people who come from different health and social care professions but who do not necessarily interact when providing care for an individual (Atwal & Caldwell, 2006).

Interprofessional working: Refers to interactions between team members of varied disciplines.  Ovretveit et al. (1997) offer a definition of interprofessional working that focuses on communication and cooperation as strategies for achieving a common goal, with a focus on the relations between professional groups.  

Interprofessional education (IPE): Happens when individuals from two or more disciplines are educated about, with, and from each other (WHO, 2013). "Interprofessional education (IPE) is a prerequisite to building a collaborative practice environment and optimizing patient care," (Spaulding et al., 2021) 

The complex health care needs found in today’s society require health care professionals to work as a collaborative team. Safe, high quality health care is dependent upon the ability of the health care team to cooperate, communicate, and share skills and knowledge appropriately. "Interprofessional education provides a collaborative approach for the development and mastery of these competencies," (Decker et al., 2015, p293). 

Image References

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Image retrieved from: https://www.renalfellow.org/2018/02/12/my-first-experience-in/