Interdisciplinary Approaches and Techniques


An interdisciplinary approach includes team members from various roles (i.e. physician, nurse, PT/OT, etc...) collaborating with a similar aim to create goals, make choices, and share resources and responsibilities pertaining to the patient. (Health.vic, 2021).

Techniques/Elements Integral for a Successful Interdisciplinary Approaches

Leadership

  • Establishing a trusting environment in which contributions are recognized and encouraged.
  • Ensuring the availability of necessary resources and training, as well as a wide range of talents, abilities, and skills among team members.

Person-Centered Practice

  • Involving the patient in their treatment gives them the right to express and participate in decision-making.
  • Establishing shared multidisciplinary care plans and records of care to provide holistic and comprehensive person-centered care.

Teamwork

  • Ensure that team members understand their shared duties and responsibilities within the team structure, and that they have clear goals.
  • Participate in a joint assessment, diagnostic, and goal-setting process.
  • Encourage team cohesion and innovation through encouraging team commitment and the establishment of common goals.

Communication

  • Communicate openly in order to foster true partnership. Communication breakdowns among health professionals are a common factor of hospital errors and adverse events.
  • Document evaluations and ensure clinical handover paperwork are completely completed and archived in a central location.

(Health.vic, 2021)

Relation To Case Study 3

Pertaining to Case Study 3, the core mental health professionals that would be involved for the interdisciplinary approach of Max's care are his nurse, pharmacist, psychiatrist/physician, and his mother.

Roles of Each Mental Health Professional for Max

Psychiatrist/Physician: 
Diagnose Max's mental health conditions, prescribe and monitor Max's medications and provide therapy for Max to express his emotions, behavior and trauma

Pharmacist:
Provide Max's medication and ensure medication management, meaning they evaluate responses and modify treatment, manage medication reactions and drug interactions, and provide education about medications.

Nurse: 
Creating a nursing plan for Max with interventions, outcomes, goal-setting, and nursing diagnoses related to his depression. The nurse also provides assessments, diagnosis and therapy for Max's condition, including monitoring Max's medications to make sure there are no side effects present.

Mother: 
Though the mother is not a mental health professional, she is still involved in the care in the form of providing consent on behalf of Max, as he is an adolescent. Ideally, Max would also be involved because of patient-centered care.

(NAMI, 2020)
References

Health.vic. (2021, October 23). An interdisciplinary approach to caring.

Victoria Department of Health. Retrieved from, https://www.health.vic.gov.au/patient-care/an-interdisciplinary-approach-to-caring#what-is-it

NAMI. (2020 April). Types of mental health professionals. National Alliance

of Mental Illness. Retrieved from, https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Treatments/Types-of-Mental-Health-Professionals

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