Interprofessional Collaboration in Nursing: Examples and Benefits

To provide patients with the highest level of care, nursing professionals need more than just good bedside manner and advanced clinical acumen. They also need the ability to cooperate and collaborate with other health professionals, exhibiting the values of teamwork and professional camaraderie. Good teamwork is essential for not only employee morale but also the best patient outcomes.What makes interpersonal collaboration in nursing so essential to the patient experience? For one, patients often need to receive care from multiple providers or specialists to have the most holistic, comprehensive treatment. For example, a patient who is treated for breast cancer may benefit from the interventions of an oncologist, a dermatologist, and a reconstructive surgeon.The nurses involved need to work well with different professionals, ensuring that the full continuum of care provides the same high standards of quality and safety. Similarly, a patient who is in the hospital for an extended period...