The increasing complexity and scope of patient problems in the current healthcare environment has driven the evolution of patient care to include physicians of different disciplines, skilled nursing professionals, and other healthcare providers in a multidisciplinary team. Comprehensive patient care often involves trying to solve problems which are beyond the scope of expertise and training of any one provider. As a result, the physician is now in a leadership position to that of a multidisciplinary team interfacing with many different kinds of healthcare professionals, each with separate and important knowledge, technical skills, and perspectives. This integration of various physician specialists, as well as allied health professionals including pharmacists, psychologists, nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, has created a need for interdisciplinary education.¹

According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), during the course of a 4-day hospital stay, a patient may interact with 50 different employees including physicians, nurses, technicians, and others. Effective clinical practice thus involves many instances where critical information must be accurately communicated. Team collaboration is essential. When health care professionals are not communicating effectively patient safety is at risk for several reasons: lack of critical information, misinterpretation of information, unclear orders over the telephone, and overlooked changes in status.²

Physicians and other healthcare providers must learn to work together as a team balancing responsibilities, values, knowledge, skills, and even goals about patient care against their role as a team member in shared decision-making. Interdisciplinary conflicts are seen in all areas of medical practice, reinforcing the need to provide education for patient care that involves interdisciplinary cooperation, conflict, and compromise.

The benefits of interdisciplinary healthcare have been demonstrated throughout the healthcare system; however, interdisciplinary education is not often formally integrated into health professionals' academic backgrounds. Education on how to function within a team and an understanding of each healthcare professional’s purpose within the larger context is essential to optimal care. Utilizing the expertise of various health care professionals is particularly important in patients with chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. This benefit is especially pronounced in the elderly population, which tend to use multiple healthcare resources and providers. Some academic institutions have found multidisciplinary educational experiences to be a successful method of clinical teaching and have incorporated these methods into their curriculum. However, there is an educational gap for those clinicians who have been out of medical school and update their knowledge base through continuing education.³

INTERDISCIPLINARY STAKEHOLDERS

To fill this educational gap of interdisciplinary teamwork, include multiple healthcare stakeholders in the planning of your next activity. Focus the content to encompass issues that relate to multiple providers, such as nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, or psychologists, to name a few. Educating these stakeholders on how to function as a team will give them the skills they need to provide optimal patient care. Please see below for information regarding accrediting bodies of different healthcare providers.

As a professional organization of registered nurses in Colorado and a constituent of the American Nurses Association, CNA exists to provide direction to and a voice for the nursing profession in the health care environment and the community. CNA works to advance the nursing profession by addressing nursing practice, public policy, education, and workplace issues. We believe in this mission and in our role in analyzing societal trends to provide direction for the future; in interpreting and communication nursing to others; in providing an environment for leadership development; and in recognizing excellence in nursing.

CFMC is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the Colorado Nurses Association, accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) is the national agency for the accreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy and providers of continuing pharmacy education. ACPE was established in 1932 for the accreditation of pre-service education, and in 1975 its scope of activity was broadened to include accreditation of providers of continuing pharmacy education.

ACPE is an autonomous and independent agency whose Board of Directors is derived through the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) (three appointments each), and the American Council on Education (ACE) (one appointment).

Based in Washington, D.C., the American Psychological Association (APA) is a scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States. With more than 154,000 members, APA is the largest association of psychologists worldwide. The mission of the APA is to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives.
CFMC is approved by the APA to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
 

REFERENCES:

1. Gail Van Norman, MD. Interdisciplinary Team Issues. Ethics in Medicine. Available at: http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/index.html. Accessed December 2011.
2. O’Daniel M, Rosenstein AH. Professional Communication and Team Collaboration Institute of Medicine. Available at: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/docs/O%27DanielM_TWC.pdf Accessed December 2011.
3. Dana L. Singla, PharmD, et al. Interdisciplinary Approach to Teaching Medication Adherence to Pharmacy and Osteopathic Medical Students. The Journal of American Osteopathic Association. Available at: http://www.jaoa.org/content/104/3/127.full. Accessed December 2011.

CFMC's Online eLearning Services

Online education is a major asset to any healthcare organization’s continuing education program. Some benefits of CFMC’s online eLearning services include:

• Reaching a National Audience
• Affordable
• Convenient Learning Resource—Available to Learners 24/7
• Accredited Programs Developed Based upon Adult Learning Principles
• Electronic Evaluations & Outcomes Measurement Tools
• Immediate Credit Certificate Delivery
• In-house Technical Assistance
• CME Consulting Services

Visit www.yourCEsource.org for more information about our continuing education services to award credit to physicians, nurses, psychologists, and others. You may also call Lorraine Pickrell at 1-800-950-8250, ext. 3372.

The continuing education experts at CFMC are here to help you create an educational program that will increase physician knowledge and improve patient care. Achieving high standards of certification have enabled CFMC to define the standards of success. Various types of CME activities include live activities, enduring materials, journal-based CME, new procedures, test item writing, manuscript review, performance improvement, Internet point of care learning, and other activities.

Create an accredited educational activity you can be proud of with the help of the continuing education experts at CFMC. Call Lorraine Pickrell, CE Manager at 303-784-5761 or via email lpickrell@cfmc.org or Craig Mattingly, CE Operations Manager at 303-695-3000 or via email cmattingly@cfmc.org.

CFMC Upcoming Educational Activities

Visit www.yourCEsource.org for a complete list of upcoming educational activities.