Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Healthcare (Essay Sample)

Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Healthcare Author Institutional Affiliation Course Number: Course Title Instructor’s Name Date Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Healthcare Interdisciplinary collaboration in clinical practice reduces fragmentation and improves the quality of patient care—this outcome prompted the Institute of Medicine to include interdisciplinary collaborative patient care as one of ten tenets for redesigning and promoting better health care (Bender et al., 2013). Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) are globally recognized as a persistent health problem primarily because patients acquire them during the treatment process and they result in unwanted expenditure (Lewis et al., 2013). Therefore, the role of a multidisciplinary team is important towards identifying underlying patient problems that may lead to contracted infection. The proposed interdisciplinary team will consist of the DNP-prepared nurse, a clinical nurse specialist, infection preventionist, epidemiologist, dietician, physiotherapist, and clinical pharmacist. The role of the DNP-prepared nurse in addressing HAI incidences in the hospital setting is crucial towards enhancing patient care outcomes. The nurse is generally considered the first point of contact with the patient and their family members (Fattirolli et al., 2018). The specific task of the nurse, in this case, will be to identify and intercept underlying risk factors, intervene in co-occurring patient conditions, and facilitate adherence to therapy. According to a study by Snowdon et al. (2014), preoperative interventions for cardiovascular patients reduce the risk of postoperative complications such as respiratory infection or failure. The emergent role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist Perioperative Certification (CNS-CP) ensures proper care for the patient before, during, and after cardiovascular surgery. One of the most important healthcare specialists addressing patient infections is the infection preventionist (IP) whose role is to maintain working knowledge about the core function of rapid interventions and the knowledge they offer. The IP will also determine the best technology needed to meet the demands posed by the HAI prevention program. Additionally, the IP assumes the role of early detection of infections, close surveillance of bacteremia and multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), and monitoring changes in antibiograms for emergent bacterial resistance (Edmiston et al., 2018). In a case where the patient is an infant or newborn, the contributions of a podiatrist would be most constructive towards establishing a pattern for infection. Similarly, a geriatrist would provide valuable insights in the event of the patient being an older adult. The IP also closely collaborates with the healthcare epidemiologist (HE) in conducting Antimicrobial Stewardship (AS) which refers to the optimal, informed, and judicious administration of antimicrobial drugs for patients across the entire healthcare continuum—that is, from acute to long-term patient care. Moody et al. (2012) noted that the expertise and knowledge availed by highly-skilled HEs and IPs in a hospital’s AS program accelerate patient progress towards preventing MDROs. With the emergence of MDRO being associated with increased risk of HAIs, the role of AS programs promotes discovery of infection causes whereby both the IP and HE perform surveillance activities targeting syndromes of interest, propose interventions for evidence-based practice, and provide translational insights concerning infection data to administrative personnel, healthcare workers, and nurses. Among the functional interventions afforded through postoperative care to cardiovascular patients is the need for specialized nutrition. Waltzberg et al. (2006) reported that IMPACT specialized nutrition support resulted in significantly reduced infectious complications and hospital length of stay. The study also recommended supplementing a patient’s diet with IMPACT over a period of between 5 to 7 days prior to surgery. These results thus emphasize the role of a dietician in reducing HAI incidence and preventing reoccurrence among cardiovascular patients. The dietician designs and implements a patient care regimen informed by an assessment, dietary diagnosis, a clinically informed intervention, and a scheduled reassessment (Fattirolli et al., 2018). Conducting preoperative and postoperative dietary assessments thus provides important insights into the importance of dietician inputs. Another postoperative intervention for cardiovascular patients relates to physiotherapy which serves the purpose of providing optimum regain of functional capacity and patient autonomy within the expected time. Initial assessment conducted by the physiotherapist provides information about the functional requirements, dysfunctional features, and care needs of a patient. The final assessment then verifies the results of the initial assessment and offers insights into factors such as patient stability, autonomy level, and perceived fatigue. Depending on the reported levels of severity and patient immobility, a number of inferences can be made in this regard. Possible interventions to promote better patient outcomes include controlled breathing exercises, strengthening the upper and lower limb muscles, reeducating patient gait, active-assisted mobility, postural gymnastics, verification of patient ability to self-manage physical exercising in the home environment, incremental aerobic training, and trained independent walking (Fattirolli et al., 2018). Physiotherapy forms part of the recovery process which allows for faster patient discharge. Critical to postoperative patient recovery is the type and dosage of pharmacological drugs recommended to patients at various levels of the healthcare continuum. In a study by Draxler (2019), tranexamic acid (TXA) has antifibrinolytic properties which prevent plasmin formation thus reducing immunosuppressive outcomes. Administering TXA thus leads to reduced frequency in the occurrence of postsurgical infections due to its supposed hemostatic properties. The role of a clinical pharmacist in establishing appropriate TXA doses, possible multi-dose options, and prescription periods. The clinical pharmacist engages in medical activities that facilitate optimized drug use and preventive interventions (Dunn et al., 2015). Through their training and experience, clinical pharmacists are capable of contributing critical pharmacy services that benefit both the interdisciplinary healthcare team and the patient. This report was an investigation into the roles of various professionals within the interdisciplinary team towards identifying underlying causes for postsurgical cardiovascular patient infections. As the burden of intervention rests heavily on the DNP, the inputs of other professionals helps relieve this pressure and allow healthcare provision to be more patient-centered and informed. Integrating expertise from various professionals reduces fragmentation and allows patient care to be holistic and specialty-driven. References Bender, M., Connelly, C. D., & Brown, C. (2013). In...