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Interview and Interdisciplinary Issue Identification

Interview Summary

I had the opportunity to interview Dr. J who is a professional psychiatrist and the interview majorly addressed the communication aspects when handling an aggressive patient. Dr. J has a vast experience in the field as he has worked with several organizations for a period for more than 17 years. In his line of duty, he has been able to handle psychiatric patients with different levels of aggression. Dr. J considers a knowledge of communication as the most important element in the treatment of a psychiatric patient. He considers communication to help the professional to make arrangement for the solution to the patients’ problems.

During the interview, Dr. J acknowledged the need for a continuous evaluation of the healthcare process as it gives the opportunity to make the right decision regarding the effectiveness of the strategies that have been put in place to handle mental disorder cases. It is necessary to conduct continuous and consistent surveillance, a process that is always ignored or omitted in the most healthcare system but is of great significance. Dr. J mentioned that the process needs to involve a continuous revision of the care plan, and the interventions are frequently revised, assessed, and individualized, depending on the patient needs to be identified. In developing a care plan, it is necessary to use a clinical decision support tool to ensure that the best decision is made regarding quality improvement (Bonvento et al., 2017).

Identifying the Issue

In my interview with Dr. J, we tackled a number of topics that are significant to the quality and efficiency of service delivery in a healthcare system. One key are that Dr. J identified to affect the performance of most of the healthcare system is the management of a change process. This is based on the fact that changes are most likely to come with unexpected challenges that an organization needs to be well prepared for if it is to get good results. It is a process that requires the development of a team with the right leadership to handle the challenges that may come along. The leadership has to develop a strategic plan for it to be successful in its duties. Dr. J considers the collaboration of the team as a very important area that the leader has to give a close attention. It is also necessary to focus on developing an interdisciplinary team at the same time (Mitchell & Boyle, 2021).

Change Theories that Could Result into an Interdisciplinary Solution

Dr. J considers strategies that an organization puts in place as the key driver for change within an organization and shapes the quality of care and the patients' experience. The initiation of a change process within an organization requires a clear plan of the specific activities that have to be carried out at any given time. Dr. J prefers the use of the Lewin’s Change Management Model as it outlines the key stages of focus when managing a change process within an organization. From the interview, I learnt the importance of specifically understanding every activity in the process of change, their impact and how they can be controlled. Every stage in the change process comes with unique challenges and therefore, it is more important for the team leader to analyze the possible challenges he or she is likely to face at each stage and develop a plan for handling such challenges.

Leadership Theories that Could Lead to Interdisciplinary Solutions

In my interview, I come to learn that the success of the healthcare system largely depends on the level of leadership competencies within the team. Dr. J considers the Great Man Theory as the leadership model he prefers most as it largely focuses on the relationship among the team members. Effective leadership however depends on the strategy that the leader puts in place and the ease with which the team members can adapt to the model. Most team leaders have always applied this leadership theory as they try to keep a productive team in which the members collaborate amongst themselves to give the desired results. The management strategies tend to inform one of the approaches they can use to ensure that a team realizes its objective. Managing a multidisciplinary team is not always an easy task as it involves members drawn from different fields whose opinions have to be brought together to achieve the team's goals. It is, therefore, necessary for the team leader to be very flexible when dealing with the cases of an interdisciplinary team (Morton et al., 2018). The leader has to be open-minded and ready to incorporate new ideas from every member as he or she makes decisions.

Collaboration Approaches for Interdisciplinary Teams.

The most critical element that ensures collaboration among the team members is an effective communication strategy among the staff members. Dr. J considers communication to help the team at times of consultations amongst themselves on the best approaches they can take to ensure a better solution to the patients' problems. The healthcare system must conduct a periodic review of its communication strategy to identify what works best for the organization. Team leaders tend to prefer making evidence-based decisions to ensure that every communication plan they initiate will solve the existing challenges within the organization. Communication also plays a role in the engagement between the patient and the care providers. The organization must ensure that at any point, there is no language barrier between the care provider and the patient. Effective communication ensures efficiency in service delivery; hence is key in boosting the patient's experience (Bonvento et al., 2017). The facility needs to collect data on the engagement between the patients and the care provider as this informs the nature of communication plan in the delivery of services.

In conclusion, the creation of a team in healthcare always requires the inclusion of the professionals from different fields. This helps in developing a solution the addresses the challenges in the healthcare system at different angles. For effective decision making, there is need for such a team to take an evidence-based approach as it give the opportunity to make decisions based on facts. The management strategies tend to inform one of the approaches they can use to ensure that a team realizes its objective.

References

Bonvento, B., Wallace, S., Lynch, J., Coe, B., & McGrath, B. A. (2017). Role of the multidisciplinary team in the care of the tracheostomy patient. Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare, 10, 391.

Mitchell, R., & Boyle, B. (2021). Understanding the role of the profession in multidisciplinary team innovation: Professional identity, minority dissent, and team innovation. British Journal of Management, 32(2), 512-528.

Morton, G., Masters, J., & Cowburn, P. J. (2018). A multidisciplinary team approach to heart failure management. Heart, 104(16), 1376-1382.