Management of Care / 07

Make sure to:

  • Understand the types and roles of interdisciplinary team members.
  • Effectively communicate information with care team, clients, and their families.
  • Promote continuity of care of all clients.

Nurses dedicate more time to clients seeking healthcare services than professionals in any other field. Unfortunately, due to a shortage of nurses, many find themselves forced to travel or relocate and adapt to unfamiliar settings. A thorough understanding of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teams is important to ensure the desired high-quality outcomes for clients (Burke, 2023).

This learning experience provides the learner with knowledge about the types and roles of interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary team members. It emphasizes effective communication with team members, and underscores the importance of ensuring continuous care of all clients.

3.1 Types and Roles of Interdisciplinary Team Members

Registered nurses play a pivotal role in interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary teams. They collaborate to promote positive outcomes for clients, particularly those with intricate health conditions. Each team member brings unique expertise with distinct roles and responsibilities. It is essential for registered nurses to recognize and understand these nuances. Table 1 illustrates various interprofessional/multidisciplinary team members and the clients they can assist.

Table 1

Interdisciplinary Team Members

Adapted from Burke, A. (2023). Collaboration with Interdisciplinary Team: NCLEX-RN. https://www.registerednursing.org/nclex/collaboration-interdisciplinary-team/

3.2 Communicating information

Registered nurses actively communicate information with team members involved in client care. They not only act as client advocates but, when the situation demands, assume leadership roles within the team (Burke, 2023).

Client information is relayed through electronic health records, during meetings, and conferences. Conferences may involve healthcare team members, the client, and their family when appropriate, to discuss treatment plans, address questions from the client and/or family, and prevent care fragmentation. In cases where more participants are needed, especially for clients with complex health conditions, the registered nurse is responsible for creating an agenda, inviting team members, scheduling a date and time, and location, and obtain presenters information presentation.

3.3 Promotion of Care Continuity

Registered nurses can promote the continuity of client care by coordinating their efforts with expert team members. The discussion below highlights a three-part case that demonstrates the roles of interprofessional/multidisciplinary team members, excluding the nurses, who are essential in providing healthcare to a client with complex healthcare needs.

Case Highlights

Part 1
A 69-year-old female has been admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit for open heart surgery, which includes a mitral valve replacement procedure. She is accompanied by her son and is awake, alert, and oriented.  Her medical history includes a recent onset of atrial fibrillation following a myocardial infarction, which worsened her congestive heart failure. Additionally, she has managed  hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia for over 15 years.

Healthcare team
The experts needed for her care are:

  • Cardiologist
  • Physician

Part 2
The client has returned to the cardiac intensive care unit after surgery. She is currently on the ventilator and receiving medication to regulate her blood pressure and promote urinary output. In addition, she is connected to a cardiac monitor, has an arterial line, and a Swan Ganz catheter to monitor and manage her cardiac output and pressures. Additional equipment includes blood pressure monitor, pulse oximeter, and suctioning equipment.

Healthcare team
The experts required for her care are:

  • Cardiologist
  • Respiratory Therapist

Part 3
The client was successfully extubated after six days but had to be reintubated because of respiratory distress. Subsequently, she underwent a tracheostomy in the operating room. A few days later, she began experiencing rectal bleeding, prompting a colonoscopy to identify the source of the bleeding.

Healthcare team
The experts required for her care are:

  • Nurse Anesthetist
  • Surgeon
  • Pulmonologist
  • Respiratory Therapist
  • Gastroenterologist
  • Speech Therapist

Upon concluding this learning experience, a greater understanding of interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary collaboration in healthcare is acquired. Consequently, there is an increased knowledge of the roles of interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary team members and how their collaborative and communication efforts enhance the continuity of care.

The provided resources will further promote the expansion of knowledge and proficiency in collaboration. The goals are to facilitate assist with success on the NCLEX examination and in clinical practice.

After reviewing the resources, identify areas in which improvements can be made and concentrate focus on those specific areas.

  • Burke, A. (2023, September 22). Collaboration with Interdisciplinary Team: NCLEX-RN https://www.registerednursing.org/nclex/collaboration-interdisciplinary-team/
  • Kaplan Nursing. (2023). Next Generation NCLEX-RN Prep 2023-2024: Practice Test + Proven Strategies (9th ed.). Kaplan Test Prep.

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