Collaboration amongst health care providers

This paper seeks to agree with the article, Collaboration amongst healthcare providers: The pieces of a puzzle that form the ultimate goal of patient care authored by Phillip Austin Miller (2013) and to further highlight strong points therein that root for the enhancement of better coordinated healthcare services. In a healthcare setting, it is critical that all health care providers fully comprehend their interdependent roles so as to efficiently and effectively offer healthcare services to patients and the community at large.

Miller (2013) highlights the importance for nursing students to comprehensively understand the need to form professional relationships with other healthcare experts in the profession. The development of such relationships is dependent on how professional caregiver roles are embraced by nursing students. These roles incorporate leadership traits, communication skills, professional competence, collaboration and patient care in the contemporary culturally diverse society.

Miller (2013) recommends that these roles should be likened to pieces of a puzzle such that ideally grasping each of these roles is critical to understanding the nature of the bigger picture that ultimately guarantees patient care and safety. Leadership is the most vital characteristic to a nursing student as it essentially lays the foundation for the development of the other characteristics. The appropriate leadership traits in a professional health care provider, greatly assists in enabling one to adequately influence fellow caregivers towards the realization of the desired or set goals in the profession. Miller aptly pictures the leadership role of a caregiver as the most critical pieces of the puzzle that guide in enabling one to efficiently complete the puzzle.

When the nursing tutor as well as nursing student has realized the critical importance of understanding the need for strong leadership skills, it gets to be a downhill task when it comes to fitting in the remaining parts of the puzzle (Miller, 2013). It is worth noting that once a nursing student has fully embraced a leadership role it becomes easier for him or her to stand back so as to be in a position to view how the other characteristics as pieces of a puzzle can be fitted in to get the puzzle complete.

Miller (2013) clearly illustrates the importance of understanding challenges facing health care givers from a leader’s standpoint. He provides the example of the contemporary society being rich in cultural diversity. A leader faced with such a situation will figure out that communication barriers will definitely exist in a culturally diverse setting. In instances where English is not the first language or mother tongue of a nursing student then there will definitely be a large likelihood that there will be challenges in communication with nursing tutors, other professionals and with the patients.  Such shortcoming in communication may lead to misunderstandings and poor collaboration with others in the profession resulting in poor formulation of plans meant for the provision of better healthcare to patients (Association of American Medical Colleges, 2011). The eventual outcome is rather saddening as a healthcare giver faced with such challenges may gradually loose professional credibility arising from feeling of distress to patients who are under his or her care.

In conclusion, it is ultimately important for nursing students to grasp the inherent importance of the roles mentioned in Miller’s (2013) paper as they paint a clear picture of the essence of healthcare regardless of the order for which these characteristics are understood. Collaboration among students and tutors is critical towards ensuring that the ultimate goal of improving healthcare provision to patients.

References

Miller, P. A. (2013). Collaboration amongst healthcare providers: The pieces of the puzzle that form the ultimate goal of patient care. Pdf.

Association of American Medical Colleges. (2011). Collaboration among Doctors, Nurses Crucial to Successful Health Reform. Retrieved March 3, 2013 from http://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/apa-referencing-guide#Web_documents_and_sites