Enhancing Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Hospice Palliative Care

Three to four pages Reflections

For this assessment, you will create a 5-10 minute video reflection that addresses a collaboration case study scenario that you imagine you experienced.

Demonstration of Proficiency

• Competency 1: Explain strategies for managing human and financial resources to promote organizational health.
  • Identify how poor collaboration can result in inefficient management of human and financial resources supported by evidence from the literature.
• Competency 2: Explain how interdisciplinary collaboration can be used to achieve desired patient and systems outcomes.
  • Reflect on an interdisciplinary collaboration experience noting ways in which it was successful and unsuccessful in achieving desired outcomes.
  • Identify best-practice interdisciplinary collaboration strategies to help a team to achieve its goals and work more effectively together.
• Competency 4: Explain how change management theories and leadership strategies can enable interdisciplinary teams to achieve specific organizational goals.
  • Identify best-practice leadership strategies from the literature, which would improve an interdisciplinary team’s ability to achieve its goals.
• Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based communication strategies to impact patient, interdisciplinary team, and systems outcomes.
  • Communicate via video with clear sound and light.
  • The full reference list is from relevant and evidence-based (published within 5 years) sources, exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.

Instructions

record a video (5–10 minutes) where you reflect on an interprofessional collaboration experience, proposing recommendations for how to improve interprofessional collaboration that can be shared with leadership and colleagues. Support these recommendations with references to the literature.

Be sure that your assessment addresses the following criteria

• Reflect on an interdisciplinary collaboration experience, noting ways in which it was successful and unsuccessful in achieving desired outcomes.
  • Explain aspects of the collaboration that helped the team make progress toward relevant goals or outcomes.
  • Explain aspects of the collaboration that could have been improved.
• Identify how poor collaboration can result in inefficient management of human and financial resources, citing supporting evidence from the literature.
  • Discuss the ways in which the interdisciplinary team did not collaborate effectively.
  • Discuss the negative implications for the human and financial resources of the interdisciplinary team and the organization as a whole.
  • Cite the literature for support.
• Identify best-practice leadership strategies from the literature that would improve an interdisciplinary team’s ability to achieve its goals, citing at least one author from the literature.
  • Identify at least one leadership best practice or strategy that you believe would improve the team’s ability to achieve their goals.
  • Identify the strategy and its source or author and provide a brief rationale for your choice of strategy.
  • Cite the literature for support.
• Identify best-practice interdisciplinary collaboration strategies to help a team achieve its goals and work together, citing the work of at least one author.
  • Identify at least one best practice or strategy for interdisciplinary collaboration to help the team achieve its goals and work more effectively together.
  • Identify the strategy, its source, and reasons why you think it will be effective.
• Communicate in a professional manner, is easily audible, and uses proper grammar. Format reference list in current APA style.
  • Submit an APA-formatted reference list for any sources that you cited specifically in your video or used to inform your

Additional Requirements

• References: Cite at least 3 professional or scholarly sources of evidence to support the assertions you make in your video. Include additional properly cited references as necessary to support your statements.
• APA Reference Page: Submit a correctly formatted APA reference page that shows all the sources you used to create and deliver your video.

.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and rubric criteria:

• Competency 1: Explain strategies for managing human and financial resources to promote organizational health.
  • Identify ways poor collaboration can result in inefficient management of human and financial resources, supported by evidence from the literature.
• Competency 2: Explain how interdisciplinary collaboration can be used to achieve desired patient and systems outcomes.
  • Reflect on an interdisciplinary collaboration experience, noting ways in which it was successful and unsuccessful in achieving desired outcomes.
  • Identify best-practice interdisciplinary collaboration strategies to help a team to achieve its goals and work together more effectively.
• Competency 4: Explain how change management theories and leadership strategies can enable interdisciplinary teams to achieve specific organizational goals.
  • Identify best-practice leadership strategies from the literature that would improve an interdisciplinary team’s ability to achieve its goals.
• Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based communication strategies to impact patient, interdisciplinary team, and systems outcomes.
  • The full reference list is from relevant and evidence-based (published within 5 years) sources, exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.

Assessment 01  

Collaboration and Leadership Reflection Video 

create a 5–10 minute video reflection that addresses the case study on interprofessional collaboration presented below. 

If you choose to reflect on the interprofessional case study presented below, imagine that you are a nurse on the team and you have been assigned to talk to members of the team prior to making the video reflection that you will share with the team and leadership where you will make recommendations to improve interprofessional collaboration. 

After you have thoroughly reviewed the case study below, return to the detailed instructions in the courseroom to complete your assessment. Feel free to refer back to this case study as you complete your assessment. 

Case Study: 

Interprofessional Collaboration for Palliative Care in a Hospice Setting 

Palliative care is an approach that focuses on improving the quality of life for patients with life limiting illnesses and their families. Interprofessional collaboration is essential to ensure that patients receive holistic care that addresses their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. This case study explores the interprofessional collaboration experience for palliative care in a hospice setting.  

The hospice in this case study serves a diverse population of patients with life-limiting illnesses. The interprofessional team includes physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers who work together to provide holistic care to patients and their families. The team provides ongoing care to patients with life-limiting illnesses, including symptom management, emotional support, and spiritual care. 

The following are the responses when you asked each provider where the team could improve its interprofessional collaboration. 

DR. EMILY RICHARDSON, Chief Physician. Dr. Richardson oversees the medical care of patients in the hospice. She diagnoses, prescribes treatments, and manages the medical needs of patients, ensuring their comfort and addressing any health complications.

“I’m so glad you’re looking into what we can do to work together more efficiently and offer our patients more support. With the kind of work we do, challenges are inevitable, aren’t they? 

“First off: communication issues. Remember last week when Mr. Magalski was having those severe pain episodes? I prescribed a change in his pain management regimen, but somehow the message didn’t get through to the evening shift in time. He had to endure unnecessary pain for hours. It’s moments like these that make me realize how vital clear communication is. 

“Mr. Magalski’s case also makes me think about the strain of the ethical dilemmas we often face. His family was divided on whether to continue with aggressive treatments or focus solely on comfort measures. I had a long chat with his daughter, who wanted to try every possible treatment, while his son felt we should prioritize his comfort. Mr. Magalski’s daughter started crying and yelling at me—and I totally understand why. I tried to offer comfort, but I wish I’d thought to involve Elijah or Martin in that conversation. I’ll be honest: it was hard on me. I was off my game the rest of the day. And I think Elijah or Martin would have had better tools to help Mr. Magalski’s kids through that tough conversation. 

But you know, despite these challenges, I genuinely believe our team is doing an incredible job. We just need to keep the lines of communication open and support each other.” 

NURSE CLARA MITCHELL, Senior Palliative Care Nurse. Nurse Mitchell provides direct nursing care to patients, ensuring their comfort and well-being. She administers medications, monitors patients’ health, provides symptom management, and offers emotional support to both patients and their families. 

“I’m glad you’re bringing this up—you always have a way of asking the tough questions, don’t you? We’ve been through so much together, and I think it’s important to go at these challenges head-on. 

“Emotional burnout has been on my mind lately. Just last month, after we lost Mrs. Garcia, I felt so drained. She reminded me so much of my own grandmother, and it hit me hard. I know we’re trained to handle these situations, but sometimes the emotional toll sneaks up on you. I took a couple of days off, but coming back, I could see that many of us were feeling the weight of it. We need to find better ways to support each other emotionally, especially when we have back-to-back tough cases. 

“And then there’s the whole issue of coordination of care. Remember when Mr. Patel was admitted, and there was that mix-up with his medication? Thankfully, it didn’t cause any severe complications, but it was a wake-up call. We have so many hands on deck, which is great, but we need to ensure that everyone is in sync, especially when it comes to medication and treatment plans. 

“I like to think challenges like these only make us stronger, right? And I couldn’t ask for a better team to face them with. What do you think? Any ideas how we could improve things around here?” 

MARTIN HAYES, Lead Social Worker. Mr. Hayes addresses the psychosocial needs of patients and their families. He offers counseling, assists with end-of-life planning, mediates family discussions, and connects families with external resources when needed. 

“These conversations will be a really helpful starting point as we figure out ways to improve our collaboration efforts. Everyone’s giving a hundred percent, but we need to figure out some new strategies to better support our patients. 

“First off, I grapple all the time with the diversity of cultural and spiritual beliefs we see every day. Just last week, I was working with the Nguyen family. They have specific cultural rituals they perform when a family member is nearing the end of their life. It was a bit of a scramble to ensure that we could accommodate their needs while also ensuring Mr. Nguyen’s medical care wasn’t compromised. It’s a delicate balance, and sometimes I feel like we aren’t equipped enough to handle the range of cultural nuances our patients bring in. 

“And then there’s the matter of family dynamics and expectations. Where do I start? The Rodriguez family comes to mind. The mother, Mrs. Rodriguez, was under our care, and the family was completely divided on her treatment plan. The adult children had differing opinions, and it felt like I was mediating a family feud rather than focusing on Mrs. Rodriguez’s needs. I somehow got into this conversation without Dr. Richardson or you or anyone else from the nursing staff to help answer questions. It’s challenging because these dynamics directly impact the patient’s well-being. 

“But despite these bumps in the road, I’ve never felt more fulfilled in any other job. The challenges are real, but that’s why I think that’s why it’s so rewarding. How’s your side of the fence looking?” 

CHAPLAIN ELIJAH BROOKS, Spiritual Care Coordinator. Chaplain Brooks offers spiritual support and guidance to patients and their families. He provides spiritual counseling, conducts

religious or spiritual rituals as per patients’ beliefs, and offers comfort during end-of-life transitions. 

“Always digging deep, aren’t you? It’s good, though. We need to reflect on these things to serve our patients better. Let’s take a moment, shall we? 

“One of the big challenges I’ve seen is that we need more training and education across the team. Last month, I had a conversation with Nurse Jenna about a patient’s spiritual needs, and I realized she wasn’t familiar with some of the basic spiritual care practices that can be integrated into nursing care. It’s not her fault, of course. But it made me think about how we might benefit from more integrated training initiatives where we all learn a bit about each other’s roles. It would help bridge the gap and ensure our patients receive holistic care. 

“And then there’s the challenge of resource limitations. I remember wanting to organize a spiritual retreat for some of our patients and their families. The idea was to provide them with a serene environment where they could find some peace and spiritual solace. But due to budget constraints, we had to scale it down significantly. It’s disheartening at times, knowing what could benefit our patients but being limited by budgets and dollars. 

“I must say, even with these challenges, the dedication and compassion I see in this team every day is unparalleled. We’re doing our best for our patients, and that’s what matters. How have your conversations with the others been?” 

SOPHIA MARTINEZ, Hospice Volunteer. Ms. Martinez assists the hospice team in providing comfort and support to patients. She engages patients in therapeutic activities, offers companionship, and assists with non-medical tasks to enhance patients’ well-being. 

“It’s always so great to talk to you! I’ve learned so much just by watching how you work with our patients. I have some thoughts on our team, even though I’m still sort of learning the ropes here. 

“One thing I’ve noticed is the documentation and information sharing aspect. Since I’m not always here every day, sometimes I feel a bit out of the loop. Like when I was with Mr. Chen last week, I tried to get him interested in a music therapy session, not knowing that he had a particularly rough night. If I’d known, I might have approached the situation differently, maybe just sat with him or asked him about his grandchildren. It’s essential for volunteers like me to be kept in the loop, so we can adjust our approach accordingly. 

“Another challenge, from my perspective, is I’m not always sure what I’m supposed to do. When Mrs. Allen was admitted, I wanted to help set up her room and make her comfortable, but I wasn’t sure if that was stepping on anyone’s toes or if I was overstepping my boundaries as a volunteer. I think clearer guidelines on what each of us can and should do would be helpful, especially for newer volunteers like me. 

“I hope this feedback helps—I really admire the work you do, and I always want to learn more and contribute more. Your guidance means a lot to me, especially since I hope to follow in your footsteps one day.” 

Interview Summary

              The goal of this section is to convey what was discussed at the interview and set yourself up to identify an issue to pursue in throughout the rest of this assessment (and future assessments in this course), as well as have enough information about the situation at the organization to relate theories, strategies, and approaches to.

Issue Identification

                Identify the issue from the interview that you think pursuing an evidence-based interdisciplinary approach is appropriate. Provide one or more specific reasons why an interdisciplinary approach would be appropriate for the issue.

Change Theories that Could Lead to an Interdisciplinary Solution

                For this section look to the literature and describe one or more change theories that would help to develop an interdisciplinary solution to the identified issue. Also, you should briefly note the relevance and credibility of the source(s) that you cite.

                Another way to think through this section is:

• What is the change theory?
• How could it heal and create an interdisciplinary solution?
• How relevant is the theory to your specific identified issue?
• How credible is the source?

Leadership Strategies that Could Lead to an Interdisciplinary Solution

             This section is similar to the previous one, except it will be looking to the literature to help you describe one or more leadership that would help to develop an interdisciplinary solution to the identified issue. Also, you should briefly note the relevance and credibility of the source(s) that you cite.

Another way to think through this section is:

• What is the leadership strategy?
• How could it heal and create an interdisciplinary solution?
• How relevant is the strategy to your specific identified issue?
• How credible is the source?

Collaboration Approaches for Interdisciplinary Teams

             Again, this section will be similar to the previous one, except that the focus will be on collaboration approaches. Depending on if your interviewee’s organization makes frequent use of interdisciplinary teams or not, your focus in this section may be on how to establish interdisciplinary teams and a collaborative foundation or how to improve collaboration within an already established team. You should also briefly note the relevance and credibility of the source(s) that you cite.

Another way to think through this section is:

• What are the best practices of interdisciplinary collaboration from the literature?
• How could it help establish or improve collaboration?
• How relevant is the approach to your specific identified issue?
• How credible is the source?