Taking an interprofessional collaborative practice to the next level: Strategies to promote high performing teams

Abstract

Interprofessional collaborative practice is an effective model to deliver care to vulnerable populations. Nurse-led interprofessional clinics have shown improvements in patient outcomes including patients with heart failure. Yet, few studies report the sustainability of high performing interprofessional teams. The purpose of this paper is to describe the interventions and strategies implemented by the Heart Failure Transitional Care Services for Adults Clinic team over a 4-year time period to hardwire and promote high team performance and interprofessional collaboration as well as the ongoing evaluation of team function. This prospective study used an implementation science design so that important information learned could be easily translated into practice in a timely way. All domains of the SOAP-C questionnaire improved over time. Four of 7 domains in the CPAT questionnaire also improved over time. Team assessment revealed the team is in the performing stage of Tuckman's stages of team development. Working to build a high performing nurse-led interprofessional team that cares for underserved patients with heart failure is challenging, yet achievable. Our findings extend our previous work and support others who utilize the interprofessional collaborative practice model to improve health outcomes. • Successful integration of interprofessional collaborative practice competencies is achievable. • Consistent and focused attention on the entire team is essential for high performing teams. • Integration of interprofessional collaborative practice competencies can assist teams to become high performing teams.