INTERPROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION 101

WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT interprofessional communication?

Interprofessional communication: Health care work requires communication between an array of professions and medical specialties. This communication can be complicated by a variety of factors, including hierarchical structures of authority and professional fragmentation. [1]

WHY DOes interprofessional communication MATTER IN HEALTH CARE?

A scoping review of the literature on bias in interprofessional health care teams found that the overwhelming majority of this bias relates to different health professions. For example, health professions students rate their own profession more highly than others, which may reduce their willingness to collaborate with those outside their profession. [2] Moreover, health care professionals may hold stereotypes about other professions, limiting their understanding of others’ abilities and roles. [3] Training can reinforce stereotypes that hinder communication between professions; an example is when a physician comes to view themselves as an authoritative leader and shuts down communication in a team. [4] Differences in training between professions also lead to different approaches to patient care and communication styles. For instance, nurses are often taught to be descriptive and physicians to be succinct, which can lead to miscommunication when they interact, and can reinforce biases. [5]

Poor communication in health care teams has a well-documented link to poor patient outcomes. These poor outcomes include delayed treatment, misdiagnosis, and medical error. [5] In contrast, effective communication supports a team-oriented approach to care; the World Health Organization considers interprofessional collaboration a key part of addressing global health challenges. [3]

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT interprofessional communication IN MEDICAL AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION?

Scholars stress the potential of education to improve interprofessional communication. Health professions education has tried to teach interprofessional communication through a variety of methods, one of the most effective being interprofessional clinical experience during simulations. [5] A common framework for teaching interprofessional communication is that of interprofessional education (IPE), which entails “two or more professionals [learning] about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes.” IPE’s key pedagogical themes include roles and responsibilities, ethical practice, conflict resolution, communication, and collaboration and teamwork. [7] Moving forward, scholars urge more research into IPE in the curriculum and an expansion of interprofessional communication training. [7, 5] 

WHAT CAN WE DO TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM?

  • Example: One form of bias described in Bias Checklist submissions involves persistently associating certain specialties with certain genders. For instance, the use of masculine pronouns for a pediatric cardiologist in a vignette may not be biased on its own, but educational content should be revised to challenge these gender associations when possible.

WHERE CAN I GO TO LEARN MORE? 

I learn best by…

Reading

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Listening

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HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD? 

  • Recommendations for additional important content to include above, or suggested corrections or clarifications → use the subject header “Interprofessional Communication 101 - Correction”

  • Suggestions for additional questions to add to the Bias Checklist → use the subject header “Interprofessional Communication 101 - Checklist Question”

  • Suggestions for additional resources for learning more → use the subject header “Interprofessional Communication 101 - Learn More”

  • Examples of curricular bias, including before and after versions of content → use the subject header “Interprofessional Communication 101 - Example”

  • Your name, credentials, affiliation, area(s) of expertise, and brief biography or summary of qualifications if you are willing to serve as an expert consultant → use the subject header “Interprofessional Communication 101 - Consultant”

references

  1. Varpio, L., Hall, P., Lingard, L., Schryer, C.F. (October 2008). Interprofessional Communication and Medical Error: A Reframing of Research Questions and Approaches. Academic Medicine 83(10), S76-81. https://journals.lww.com/academicmedicine/fulltext/2008/10001/interprofessional_communication_and_medical_error_.19.aspx

  2. Cook, K., Stoecker, J. (November 2014). Healthcare Student Stereotypes: A Systematic Review with Implications for Interprofessional Collaboration. Journal of Research in Interprofessional Practice and Education, 4.2. https://jripe.org/index.php/journal/article/view/151/108 

  3. White, S., Lambert, S., Visker, J., et al. (June 2019). Public health education student stereotypes of other health professions before and after an interprofessional education program. Health Professions Education, 5(2), 120-125. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452301117300913 

  4. Javeed, S., Bertram, K., Hendrikx, S., et al. (October 3, 2021). Exploring implicit influences on interprofessional collaboration: a scoping review. Journal of Interprofessional Care 36(5), 716-724. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13561820.2021.1979946 

  5. Foronda, C., MacWilliams, B., McArthur, E. (2016). Interprofessional communication in healthcare: An integrative review. Nurse Education in Practice 19(2016), 36-40. https://bcpsqc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Interprofessional-communication-in-health-care-an-integrative-review.pdf

  6. Health Professions Network, Nursing and Midwifery Office. (2010). Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education & Collaborative Practice. World Health Organization. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/70185/WHO_HRH_HPN_10.3_eng.pdf?sequence=1 

  7. Van Diggele, C., Roberts, C., Burgess, A., Mellis, C. (2020). Interprofessional education: tips for design and implementation. BMC Medical Education 20(455). https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-020-02286-z