Interview and Interdisciplinary Issue Identification

Create a 2–4-page report on an interview you have conducted with a health care professional colleague. You will identify an issue from the interview that could be improved with an interdisciplinary approach and review best practices and evidence to address the issue. This is the first of three assessments that build on each other.
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Introduction
As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, your participation and leadership in intra- and interdisciplinary teams will be vital to the health outcomes for your patients and organization. One way to approach designing an improvement project, and implementing change, is to become knowledgeable about the challenges that the organization is facing. To do this, you will interview a healthcare professional. This can be a peer, a nursing colleague, administrator, or someone who could provide you with sufficient knowledge and information on a particular problem or concern within the organization.
It would be an excellent choice to complete the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle activity prior to developing the report. The activity consists of four questions that create the opportunity to check your understanding of best practices related to each stage of the PDSA cycle, which is one of a number of change models you can read about. The information gained from completing this activity will promote your success with the Interview and Interdisciplinary Issue Identification report. This will take just a few minutes of your time and is not graded.
By interviewing a healthcare colleague of your choice, you will begin to gather information about an interprofessional collaboration problem that your colleague is experiencing, or has experienced, in the workplace. You will identify a change theory and leadership strategies that can be applied to address this problem.
Overview
This assessment is the first of three related assessments in which you will gather interview information, design a proposal for interdisciplinary problem-solving, and report on how an interdisciplinary improvement plan could be implemented in a place of practice. At the end of the course, your interviewee will have a proposal plan that they could present to stakeholders to address an interdisciplinary problem in the workplace.
You may interview a healthcare professional such as a fellow learner, nursing colleague, administrator, business partner, or another appropriate person who could provide you with sufficient information regarding an organizational problem or an area in which the organization is seeking improvements. Consult the Interview Guide [DOCX] for an outline of how to prepare and the types of information you will need to complete this project successfully.

Full Answer Section

              The interviewee for this report was a Nurse Manager on a busy 40-bed medical-surgical unit at a large urban hospital. With over 15 years of experience in various nursing roles, including direct patient care and leadership, the manager provided invaluable insights into the daily operational challenges impacting patient care coordination. The conversation focused on recurrent issues that affect patient safety, quality of care, and staff efficiency, ultimately pinpointing a critical area for interdisciplinary improvement.

Identified Interdisciplinary Issue: Fragmented Discharge Planning

During the interview, the Nurse Manager consistently highlighted the persistent challenge of fragmented discharge planning for patients with complex chronic conditions, citing it as a major contributor to preventable hospital readmissions. This issue manifests as a breakdown in the seamless transition of care from the inpatient setting back to the community or home environment.

Sample Answer

         

Interview and Interdisciplinary Issue Identification Report: Addressing Fragmented Discharge Planning

Introduction

As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, participation and leadership in intra- and interdisciplinary teams are paramount to achieving optimal health outcomes for patients and ensuring the sustained success of healthcare organizations. A foundational step in spearheading improvement initiatives and implementing meaningful change involves gaining a comprehensive understanding of existing challenges within the healthcare environment. To this end, an interview was conducted with a seasoned healthcare professional to identify a specific issue that could be significantly improved through a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach. This report will detail the identified problem of fragmented discharge planning, explore its multifaceted impact, review best practices and evidence for interdisciplinary solutions, and outline a high-level proposed approach.