Interprofessional collaboration is recognized as a valuable health care model—associated with improved patient outcomes, efficiency of care, and decreased patient morbidity and mortality rates.1 Membership in a supportive health care team also reduces stress on participants. APTA encourages team-based interprofessional education and collaborative practice.2
Problems arise, however, when not every member of the interprofessional group is a team player. Consider the following scenario.
Just This…Twice?
Janice, 26, is enjoying her first job as a physical therapist (PT) at Dewey Home Health, working with a highly professional and supportive care team that also includes a physician, a nurse, an occupational therapist, a respiratory therapist, a speech-language pathologist, and a social worker. She's been at Dewey for 3 months and particularly likes the weekly team meetings, during which members review and update patient cases. Everyone is respectfully heard. The collaborative atmosphere contributes to creative thinking and optimal patient care. In fact, Janice can hardly believe her good fortune at having landed a position at the agency that had been her first choice among potential employers.
