As the delivery of health care continues to evolve, there is an increasing demand for psychologists to engage in interprofessional collaboration. Interprofessional collaboration is an umbrella term used to describe a team of providers representing at least more than one discipline, who are working together from the level of consultation to the level of a fully integrated team (Dahlke et al., 2017). Psychologists bring an important and unique perspective to research and care for older adults. However, psychologists need to work collaboratively with health providers from other disciplines to meet the diverse and complex biopsychosocial needs of the aging population. The use of interprofessional teams (IPT) for coordinating the care of older adults is associated with improved health outcomes in a variety of settings (Montagnini et al., 2014). Thus, interprofessional teamwork is an essential competency for psychologists in the field of adult development and aging.
Yet, for many psychologists, involvement in these teams may be a daunting task, and they may feel that their training has not prepared them for these settings. Exposure to interprofessional teams can serve as an opportunity for honing our elevator speech for describing the unique perspective psychologists can bring to a team. The IPT setting challenges us to communicate using shared language. Within the team, avoiding psychology-specific jargon is important for creating a shared understanding of goals and measured outcomes. In many ways, the practice of disseminating psychological perspectives within the interprofessional team heightens one’s ability to demonstrate the value of psychology and effectively communicate our strengths and weaknesses. Further, these skills transfer to interactions with clients, research participants, administrators and more. These are a few ways that participation on an IPT helps us develop transferable skills. In an effort to encourage more involvement, we outline a number of examples and tips for facilitating these experiences.
Interprofessional Collaboration in Research
Interprofessional collaboration can lead to the synthesis of novel questions, research innovation and improvements to practice. Exposure to interprofessional collaboration during graduate training can provide a foundation for future interprofessional work in a research or clinical career. Victoria has participated in interprofessional research as described by Green and Johnson (2015) as part of her graduate training at the University of South Florida. The project offered an opportunity to work with individuals from the College of Nursing. The research team included two advanced registered nurse practitioners and researchers, a statistician, a clinical psychologist and three PhD students with varying backgrounds and perspectives. A stress and coping model was used to examine the role of appraisal symptom occurrence and well-being in patients with breast cancer. This posed the challenge of merging perspectives to collaboratively conceptualize the research aims, hypotheses and methodology. Products of this collaboration included a research article submitted for publication consideration and initial training for future interprofessional research. These skills are transferable to post-doc placement, many of which are at integrated care systems (i.e., VA medical centers) and require interprofessional collaboration.
Interprofessional Collaboration in Practice
In practice, interprofessional collaborations are most commonly seen in integrated primary care settings. Research demonstrates that interprofessional collaboration in primary care serves three primary functions: 1) improves patient care, 2) improves health outcomes and 3) decreases costs associated with healthcare (Cuff, 2013; Zucchero, 2017). In these integrated care settings, psychologists can provide consultation, conduct brief assessments and therapy (e.g., CBT, interpersonal) and promote medication adherence with patients. Also, psychologists can help facilitate positive team dynamics by modeling respectful interpersonal exchanges. However, there are common challenges to establishing an IPT like financial barriers or practitioners finding it difficult to match the pace of the primary care (Cubic, Mance, Turgesen, & Lamanna, 2012; VanKuiken, Schaefer, Flaum Hall, & Browne, 2016). Lastly, incorporating interprofessional education (IPE) into training programs is no small task. Given the barriers associated with developing IPE, recent research has started to offer alternative methods. For example, Zucchero (2017) reports positive results from implementing a brief IPE compared to the more common semester long experiences.
Similar to the interprofessional education experience outlined by Zucchero (2017), Deanna participated in a simulated treatment plan discussion with an interprofessional team. A variety of disciplines were represented by students who were at similar levels of training in their respective fields. This offers a low-risk environment for trainees to develop foundational competencies in team-based coordinated care. Following this IPE at the University of Alabama, Deanna participated on the IPT at the University Medical Center’s Geriatrics Clinic, which is part of a geropsychology course requirement. This IPT includes: a geriatrician, a pharmacist with students in training, resident physicians, a social worker and a geropsychologist in training. Team members are encouraged to ask questions about the roles of the different disciplines and observe one another’s interactions with patients to experientially learn the differences in patient interactions across disciplines. In particular, Deanna learned about pharmacological related problems in older adults from the IPT experience and was able to apply this awareness to her work with an individual therapy client. From her experiences on the IPT, she noticed a potentially dangerous drug interaction for a client and sought consultation. More generally, these interprofessional experiences can help shape our case conceptualizations. Thus, the advantages of interprofessional collaboration can extend beyond the IPT setting to other domains of service provision.
Fostering Interprofessional Experiences
To facilitate successful interprofessional teams, recent research (Beacham et al., 2017; Kasl-Godley, King, & Quill, 2014; Montagnini et al., 2014; VanKuiken et al., 2016; Zucchero, 2017) has identified these strategies:
Team management techniques
- Clearly define members’ roles and responsibilities
- Use conflict resolution techniques to resolve interpersonal and system-level conflicts
Communication
- Avoid technical language and discipline-specific jargon
Flexibility with IPE
- Deliver IPE in a format that’s specific to your institution; even brief IPE and didactic conversations can have a positive impact
Additionally, psychologists should take the initiative to seek out these experiences. Interprofessional skills can be developed through informal consultation and cross-training with colleagues from other disciplines. Psychologists in training can use scientific conferences and university-sponsored graduate student networking and social events as opportunities to discuss ideas and network with colleagues from other disciplines. Finally, mentors can encourage interprofessional collaboration in research and practice.
Conclusion
As IPTs increase their presence in the health care delivery system, psychologists will need to enhance their interprofessional skills through informal and formal training efforts. Moreover, IPT experiences cultivate a set of skills that feed into the professional development of psychologists. Interprofessional collaboration improves patient outcomes through coordinated care, which is especially important to treat complex older adults.
References
Beacham, A. O., Van Sickle, K. S., Khatri, P., Ali, M. K., Reimer, D., Farber, E. W., & Kaslow, N. J. (2017). Meeting evolving workforce needs: Preparing psychologists for leadership in the patient-centered medical home. American Psychologist, 72(1), 42–54. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040458opens in new window
Cubic, B., Mance, J., Turgesen, J. N., & Lamanna, J. D. (2012). Interprofessional education: Preparing psychologists for success in integrated primary care. Journal of Clinical Psychology
Cuff, P. A. (2013). Interprofessional education for collaboration: Learning how to improve health from interprofessional models across the continuum of education to practice: Workshop summary. Washington, DC: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Retrieved from https://www.iom.edu/Reports/2013/Interprofessional-Education-for-Collaboration.aspxopens in new window
Dahlke, S., Meherali, S., Chambers, T., Freund-Heritage, R., Steil, K., & Wagg, A. (2017). The care of older adults experiencing cognitive challenges: How interprofessional teams collaborate. Canadian Journal on Aging/La Revue canadienne du vieillissement, 36(4), 485-500.
Green, B. N., & Johnson, C. D. (2015). Interprofessional collaboration in research, education, and clinical practice: Working together for a better future. TheJournal of Chiropractic Education, 29, 1-10.
Kasl-Godley, J. E., King, D. A., & Quill, T. E. (2014). Opportunities for psychologists in palliative care: Working with patients and families across the disease continuum. American Psychologist, 69(4), 354-376.
Montagnini, M., Kaiser, R. M., Clark, P. G., Dodd, M. A., Goodwin, C., Periyakoil, V. S., ... & Supiano, K. (2014). Position statement on interdisciplinary team training in geriatrics: An essential component of quality health care for older adults. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 62(5), 961-965.
VanKuiken, D. M., Schaefer, J. K., Flaum Hall, M., & Browne, F. R. (2016). Integrating interprofessional education into the curriculum: Challenges and solutions for a university without a medical center. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, 2, 5–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2015.12.002opens in new window
Zucchero, R. A. (2017). Psychology student experience of a brief, interprofessional team training. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 16(1), 84–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725716680459opens in new window