Key Insight #1:
"Integrating Professions In Healthcare"
I have always had an independent mindset growing up as an only child in a single parent household. Throughout my childhood, I watched my mom be financially stable all on her own, knowing what she wanted out of life and exactly how to get there. As a result, I took on those same characteristics of independence. I started working at the age of twelve initiating my own tutoring business and am currently holding down two jobs to this day as a college student. In grade school, I avoided the sight of group studying or projects having the mindset that if I want to do something right, I must do it on my own. It was not until my sophomore year of college that those views began to change. Taking on challenges and completing complex tasks requires more than just the input of one individual, but the collaboration of team members to reach successful outcomes.
During the fall 2016 semester, I completed NURS 212: Evolution of Nursing Science with Dr. Patrick Hickey. NURS 212 is a two-credit-hour course that examines the development of nursing as a scientific discipline. At the end of every class period, Dr. Hickey would share a “Healthcare in the News” article. These articles kept me as a student informed about the countless advancements made possible not only limited to the work put forth by nurses alone but by the collaborations of all healthcare professions. It was this class that taught me the concept of integrated healthcare. Integrated healthcare is the collaboration between health professionals to provide complete treatment to patients and improve overall well-being. This approach takes on a high degree of collaboration and communication. In NURS 212 we discussed topics pertaining to communicating and teamwork. We learned that nurses must be able to communicate with patients, family members, physicians, peers, and associates in an effective and constructive manner to achieve goals of high-quality patient care. In just a few weeks, we discussed the several types and styles of communication as well as how to deal with difficult behaviors from patients or maybe even coworkers. I learned that not only is working jointly with other healthcare professionals essential for teamwork and the work environment, but it enhances patient outcomes. There is no doubt that one nurse is responsible for the stability and safety of a patient during a shift, but it is the work and recommendations of that nurse, the providers, and pharmacists that lead to improved patient conditions.
One of our assignments during NURS 212 was to create a Wiki presentation pertaining to a career as a CRNA’s (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists) in our designated groups."Wiki's" are made through Blackboard and allow for collaborative editing of its content and structure by multiple users. Using the "wiki" made completing our assignment much easier rather than trying to complete it alone. Multiple minds worked simultaneously together to put together, edit, and review our assignment before it was due.
One of my first real-world encounters with integrated healthcare was with the One World Health Nicaragua Organization. One World Health is a nonprofit organization that creates sustainable medical centers that offer low-cost services to developing countries around the globe. On March 4-12, 2017, I embarked on an alternative Spring Break trip to Sabeco, Nicaragua with a team of undergraduate and graduate nursing students, nurses, pharmacists, and providers. This experience gave me first-hand exposure to integrated healthcare. Natives of Nicaragua arrived at our clinical site where they were first registered. From registration, they went to the next station and were met by us as triage nurses to obtain their vital signs. After leaving Triage, the locals saw the providers where they received their medical diagnosis. The last stop for the locals was the pharmacy where they received medicine for their designated illnesses. By the end of our seven days of serving, we provided care to more than 1,141 Nicaraguans. Without the collaboration of various professions in healthcare, the clinic would not have run smoothly and would result in a much smaller number of people provided with care.
Below is my blog that is now a post on the One World Health website. In it, I talk about my experiences from our first clinical day in Nicaragua. Mention is made of the connection between the collaboration of the staff and the ability of successfully providing care to 223 locals in one day!
The concept of integrated healthcare originating in NURS 212 shows that as various professions in healthcare share information, the biological, psychological and social needs of the patient enhances. This concept validates itself through my alternative spring break trip to Nicaragua with the One World Health Organization. Nurses, pharmacists, providers, as well as the One World Health staff collaborate as a unit to provide care to over a thousand locals in only a week's time while on that trip. Group collaboration helped me to achieve goals in my group Wiki assignment in NURS 212 as well as while serving as a member of the Dean of Nursing's Undergraduate Advisory Council to ensure that nursing students have the tools they need for success. All these encounters involve collaborating with other classmates, professions, or job titles and resulted in successful outcomes. Sometimes all it takes working together with those already around you to overcome the challenges you face.
Artifacts
WTC- CRNA Wiki (screenshots above)
BTC- One World Health Blog Post
BTC- Dean’s Undergraduate Student Advisory Council Agenda
As a student in the College of Nursing, I have the opportunity to collaborate with students, faculty, and even the dean within my college. I have been a member of the Dean’s Undergraduate Student Advisory Council in the College of Nursing for four consecutive semesters, which includes my junior and senior years here at the University. Dean Andrews, the current dean of the College of Nursing, has an established undergraduate advisory board to promote reciprocal communication among students and the College’s leadership. Students from each class year meet once a month to discuss issues as well as progress throughout the cohorts in the College of Nursing. Topics discussed during our meetings range from professor’s performance and clinical experiences to conferences hosted by the college. The Dean, as well as the students that serve on her council all unify under the goal of ensuring that each undergraduate student has the tools to be successful throughout nursing school. Being a member of the Dean’s Undergraduate Student Advisory Council has not only allowed me to cultivate my collaboration skills but, has also enhanced my appreciation for collaboration itself. Joining forces with tan array of students within the College of Nursing allowed me to work towards a unified goal of student success efficiently. The same results would be difficult and almost impossible to reach if taken on alone.
Here is an agenda that I created from one of our meetings. Each item on the agenda reflects a contribution from either the dean or any level undergraduate nursing student to contribute to our success as a college.
