FPX 4010 Assessment 3 

Interdisciplinary Plan Proposal

Introduction

In the highly charged and fast-paced setting of a hospital emergency department, communication is critical to the welfare of the patients and the standard of their care. When there is a failure in communication during the handover process, this will result in delayed treatment and adverse effects on the patients. Thus, it is crucial to apply evidence-based measures for strengthening communication. It is important to assess the communication within the healthcare facilities to determine the areas that require enhancement. (Ang, W. C. , Swain, N. , & Gale, C. 2013), The purpose of this paper is to identify the communication problems in emergency rooms today, and to present an interdisciplinary solution to these problems, including goals, recommendations, and methods of assessing the effectiveness of the proposed communication improvement plan.

Background and Significance

Interpersonal communication is an important element in emergency departments as it is the foundation of patient safety and quality results. Transfer of patients from one nursing unit to another may cause gaps in communication that results in complications and risks for the patient (Ang, W.  C.  , Swain, N.  , & Gale, C. 2013). The communication problems that are being experienced in the emergency departments are some of the most complex tasks that are accorded to the healthcare workers since they in one way or the other affect the patients’ prognosis (Schull, M.  J.  , 2005). For instance, poor Hand over communication leads to the delay in the management of the cardiac patients and therefore their prognosis (Holt, C.  , 2019). The synthesis of the literature reviewed shows that there is a high incidence of communication failure during emergencies and that call for enhanced communication (Fewster-Thuente, L.  , & Velsor-Friedrich, B.  , 2008). Therefore, the communication challenges should be solved to strive for the improvement of patients’ results, the decrease in adverse incidents, and the optimization of the work of the emergency departments. Therefore, to identify the theoretical considerations and importance of communication breakdowns in emergency care settings for the creation of more effective interprofessional communication models, it is necessary.

Objectives and Goals

For the purpose of this paper, the primary objectives of the interdisciplinary communication plan in emergency rooms will be characterized by four vectors. First, the plan emphasizes the improvement of the ability of care staff to deliver information during handover and receiving reports of individual patients or groups of patients and passing essential data from one shift to another or from one caretaker to another (J. Bello, P. Quinn, & L. Horrell, 2011). Secondly, it aims at reducing the treatment gap, which results from organisational barriers in communications by eliminating intermediaries to enhance patient care delivery (Oredsson, S. , 2011). Further, the plan aims at addressing medical mistakes emanating from misunderstandings in subprocesses, which would enhance patient care (Sullivan, T. D. & Sheils, D, 1997). To achieve this, the plan outlines standardized communication processes and also encourages collaboration across various health disciplines to support the improvement of emergency care facilities’ communication (Schiavo, R. , 2014). In addition, the plan seeks to address the issues that cause stress with regard to communication among the staff, and deprecated the morale among them (Parry, A. , & Selvaraj, N. , 2023). Altogether, the goals of the interdisciplinary communication plan match the broad goal of effective and efficient communication with the aim of providing on-time, accurate and safe patients’ treatment in emergency departments.

Interdisciplinary Team Composition

The effectiveness of the interdisciplinary communication plan in the emergency rooms will depend on the active participation of members from different fields of healthcare. The major team members include the following: The emergency physicians are crucial team members who help in the assessment of the patients as well as the initiation of their management. Their clinical expertise as well as the ability to make sound decisions when it comes to the management of patients is crucial in determining the right course of action and the right time to take a particular action (Holt, C. , 2019). The nurses are the other important members of the interdisciplinary team since they directly attend to the patients and also help to communicate the patient’s needs to other health care givers (Makic, M. B. , & Bueno, E. , 2016). Due to the fact that they assess and promote the patients’ interests comprehensively, the patients’ care is continuous hence improving the patients’ results (Fewster-Thuente, L. , & Velsor-Friedrich, B. , 2008). The interdisciplinary team also involves the pharmacists who are responsible for providing medication management advice as well as the administration of the drugs (Ghosh, S. , Ramamoorthy, L. , & Pottakat, B. , 2021). It decreases the possibility of adverse drug events and increases patient safety since they participate in medication reconciliation and error prevention processes (Adil, M. , 2008).

Besides, the team may have respiratory therapists, social workers, and case managers depending on the patient’s needs, which a patient presenting at the emergency room may have (Turner, P. , 2012). This way, every team member offers specific input and expertise in the whole patient management and enhances interdisciplinary cooperation (Villagran, M. M. , & Baldwin, P. K. , n. d. ). Thus, the interdisciplinary communication plan that involves many types of healthcare professionals is capable of solving multiple problems of patients in emergency situations.

Evidence-Based Strategies and Interventions

In analyzing the communication problems in emergency departments, various effective practices and solutions that can be implemented in emergency care settings have been proposed to facilitate information sharing, reduce delays and increase patient safety. One of the strategies that has been embraced by many healthcare organizations is the use of standardized communication techniques like the SBAR approach. SBAR gives a clear and standardized approach to relaying critical information during patient handoffs (Eden D. , & Bloor J. , 2010). Thus, integrating SBAR into handover processes will help to overcome the inefficiency of communication, share the patient’s condition, important observations, and proposed actions, thereby reducing the risk of adverse events.

The other evidence-based intervention is the use of electronic health record (EHR) systems to improve the flow of information as well as the communication among the health care givers. EHRs help to have real time details of the patient such as the medical history, the results of the tests or the treatment plans, this facilitates the coordination and continuity of care (Oredsson S. , 2011). By having EHRs, the various care providers can easily access and modify the patients records hence making sure that everyone is working with the most recent details to avoid confusion or missed details.

 Also, interdisciplinary rounds have been identified as a useful approach to fostering integrated decision-making and communication in the context of the emergency care environment (Makic, M. B. , & Bueno, E. , 2016). Interdisciplinary rounds can be described as daily or at least daily meetings of the members of a particular interdisciplinary team where the clinical picture of the patient being discussed is evaluated, and care strategies are decided. Proper collaboration and communication are enabled through interdisciplinary rounds, which help create a common understanding of patients’ needs and encourage effective teamwork in delivering care.

Also, the studies on the effectiveness of communication training programs for the healthcare personnel have revealed the improvement of the communication skills and teamwork behaviors (Ang W. C. , Swain N. , Gale C. , 2013). Clinicians can use simulation based training and role plays to develop and rehearsal of effective communication and to train for difficult communication events like conflict or feeding bad news. Through funding of communication training programs, healthcare institutions can ensure that their employees are well trained to communicate in crisis situations hence enhancing the quality of health care delivery and patients’ satisfaction.

Implementation Plan

To apply communication improvement strategies in the emergency room, a good plan is needed which should include the process, resources, and time frame. The first process entails the education of all the healthcare providers in the effective use of the standardized communication tools like the SBAR. To achieve this, this training will be organized through workshops and simulations to guarantee that all the staff members are conversant with the technique (Ghosh, S. , Ramamoorthy, L. , & Pottakat, B. , 2021).

The following step is to implement EHR systems into the working procedure of the emergency room. This step covers the processes of identifying all patient data that needs to be inputted into the system and training the staff on how to retrieve this data and input new data into the system. Technical support will be given to help in the event of any difficulties in the process of change.

 Daily interdisciplinary rounds will be conducted in order to promote the integration of ideas and strategies. These rounds will be designed to have interdisciplinary members, which will cover the physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and the social workers where they will discuss the patient’s case and design the care plan for the patients accordingly (Fewster-Thuente, L. , & Velsor-Friedrich, B. , 2008).

 Continuing education and repetition of the effective communication practices will be carried out to enhance sustainability. Evaluation of the communication strategies will be done in order to determine areas that require change and this will be done through feedback sessions that will be conducted on a regular basis. This concept of continuous learning will make certain that the above practices become part and parcel of the emergency room to enhance the efficiency of communication and care to the patients.

Change Theory and Leadership Strategy

The PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act ) cycle can be used to apply the communication improvement strategies in the emergency room. This change theory is based on the cyclic implementation of processes in an effort to achieve the envisaged outcomes. This cycle commences by developing the plan of the intervention, which is then put into practice (do), then the effects of the intervention are assessed and evaluated, and in the final step, the results of the evaluation are incorporated to enhance change (Bello, J.  , Quinn, P.  , & Horrell, L.  , 2011).

 It is necessary to have the concept of transformational leadership as it assists in gaining cooperation from the team members. Transformational leaders use the staff’s energies by creating a vision that aims at improving the quality of patient care. Organization culture encourages communication, fosters and encourages the growth and development of people in their careers and recognizes the employees. Apart from promoting unity of the team this style of leadership also supports culture of excellence and creativity in the emergency room (Turner, P.  , 2012).

 Thus, by applying the PDSA cycle and the change model of the transformational leadership, the ER team will be able to improve and sustain the communication changes effectively. Thus, by applying these measures, the interdisciplinary cooperation, the rate of misunderstanding, and, therefore, the outcomes of patient treatment will be enhanced.

Evaluation and Monitoring

The assessment of the communication improvement plan is a critical step to guarantee its success and continuity. The specific measures of evaluation include the number of cases of communication breakdown, patients’ status, and the staff and patients’ satisfaction level. These can be collected through routine audits and surveys to determine areas that need more enhancement (Fewster-Thuente, L. , & Velsor-Friedrich, B. , 2008).

 As a way of measuring the progress, the patient safety and satisfaction surveys can be used. These tools can point out any current communication concerns and evaluate the effectiveness of the introduced interventions for patients. Staff feedback in the form of meetings and questionnaires can be also helpful to identify the efficiency of the communication strategies and the problems met during their implementation (Ghosh, S. , Ramamoorthy, L. , & Pottakat, B. , 2021). It is critical to develop a feedback mechanism of the evaluation results to improve the communication strategies continually. Such a cycle is useful in ensuring that there is effective communication within the emergency room and patient care is safe, efficient and of good quality.

Challenges and Solutions

The following are the challenges that are likely to be encountered when carrying out an interdisciplinary communication plan in an emergency room: One major challenge is the resistance to change among the staff which may be due to previous practices or disbelief in the new methods. This needs to be tackled by proper management and proper explanation on the part of the leadership of the advantages of the new plan. Educational and training sessions can be useful to inform all the workers on the significance of communication and how it can enhance patients’ results (Ang, W. C. , Swain, N. , & Gale, C. , 2013).

 Another difficulty is the problem of the proliferation of information, which arises when too many details are provided because of which there is confusion. Standardized verbal hand over tools like SBAR are effective in ensuring that all important information is passed effectively and efficiently (Eden, D. , & Bloor, J. , 2010). Furthermore, constant encouragement and feedback can be useful in identifying any problems that may arise and resolve them as soon as possible with regard to the communication strategies. These solutions are crucial to eliminate the challenges and facilitate the right application of the interdisciplinary plan.

Conclusion

Nursing communication is essential in the emergency rooms, particularly to the overall safety and quality of patients’ care. This interprofessional care plan is proposed to resolve the miscommunication problems by using research-based interventions such as the handoff protocols and teamwork enhancement. To that end, the plan aims at engaging more personnel in the healthcare profession and utilizing common methods of communication with the aim of minimizing on mistakes and enhancing the wellbeing of patients. The expected positive outcomes include; Increased clarity, less treatment time and safer patient care. The success of the plan will thus require constant assessment and revision to guarantee that the plan is able to meet the ever changing needs of the emergency room.

References

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