Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine have partnered with Boca Raton Regional Hospital (BRRH) on an innovative one-year project funded by The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. The project is titled “Aligning Education and Practice to Support Interprofessional Collaboration” and is designed to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical experience. 

Healthcare professionals like nurses, attending physicians, residents, case managers, pharmacists and clinical psychologies enter into practice with different knowledge, professional identities and skills. However, barriers exist between these disciplines and this can obstruct the development of a team-based system. Currently, medical student learn the nationally recommended interprofessional competencies but now a new trend is evolving in healthcare education and it is not part of the existing curriculum. 

Charles Posternack, MD, chief medical officer of BRRH explains that the goal of this project is to enhance clear and efficient communication among members of the healthcare team to further excel in teaching and clinical practice. The project aims to align academic and healthcare delivery system partners to create practice environments in the hospital setting that are geared to support interprofessional collaboration and quality patient-centered outcomes. It will initially focus on the on the discharge process at BRRH and will take place on three different units where care teams will partner with patients and families within the hospital’s organisation.

“By taking an interprofessional approach to training, we are building the crucial communication and teambuilding skills that are essential to support collaboration and quality patient-centered outcomes,” said Terry Eggenberger, PhD., assistant professor in FAU’s College of Nursing who is working with her collaborator Kathryn Keller, PhD., professor in FAU’s College of Nursing.

Other interventions of the project include interprofessional rounds with healthcare providers, development of faculty and practice champions, and development of a repository for resources to support this new initiative. 

The project will be initiated through a survey that will obtain information regarding the frequency, timeliness and accuracy of the patient discharge process as well as how groups involved relate and interact with each other. Other issues such as problem solving, communication, sharing goals and knowledge, and mutual respect while facilitating patient discharge will also be addressed. 

Source: Florida Atlantic University

Image Credit: Florida Atlantic University 

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patient discharge, problem solving, communication, knowledge, practice Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine have partnered with Boca Raton Regional Hospital (BRRH) on an innovative one-year project funded by The Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. The project i