Introduction
The intensive care unit is a very demanding, challenging workplace that calls for exceptionally accomplished, committed interprofessional teamwork. For efficient therapy and quality care in the unit, interprofessional skills and contributions are required. Nurses, tech assistants, physicians, and experts are just a few of the teams that operate together. Nevertheless, there are also substantial obstacles to power relationships and communications that may have an adverse influence on patient outcomes, morale, and treatment efficacy.
It is essential to mention that members of teams must include social workers and patient families in their operations. Communication amongst professionals within the team might be enhanced. At the same time, a nurse is frequently a significant member of an interdisciplinary team with a well-developed system of geriatric services. In order to achieve positive patient outcomes, it is crucial to implement the iCARE approach, which involves compassion, advocacy, resilience, and evidence-based practice. In order to enhance interprofessional work and team engagement in the intensive care unit, this paper will explore nurse contributions and activities that may be put into practice from the iCARE perspective.
Compassion
Effective teamwork is hampered by communication and interpersonal friction. Through straightforward communication and comprehension, compassion may be demonstrated in action. Compassionate behavior helps to promote calm and straightforward engagement, which brings to light any possible sources of contention or tensions that the healthcare team may seek to resolve together. It may also be beneficial to act as a mediator between disputing parties in order to settle any disagreements amicably (Hays-Grudo et al., 2021). As a consequence, in the complicated working environment of the intensive care unit, interaction will become clearer, resulting in fewer mistakes, greater cooperation, enhanced teamwork, and a positive working relationship among the engaged experts.
Advocacy
One of the responsibilities of a nurse is to promote changes to medical care practices. Power structures consistently erect obstacles to productive collaboration in the intensive care unit’s interprofessional healthcare system. Accordingly, as a nurse, many may fight for changes in healthcare practice that would give nurses more authority and responsibility and provide doctors and specialists with control when they engage with lower-ranking individuals of the multifunctional team. This approach toward advocacy might help shift the team’s environment onto one that is fairer and more courteous (Ortiz, 2018). The treatment of caregivers and other support employees would be equalized and get acknowledgment.
Moreover, effective teams may jointly speak out for clients by assuring their safety zone and providing them a voice to express their demands and any other issues they may have. The environment of the unit will change in favor of patient-centered practice with this kind of strategy. The patient outcomes will also be demonstrated by the reality that the patient’s rights will be upheld, thus boosting the client’s trust in the organization.
Resilience
Intensive care unit interprofessional teams are subject to high levels of stress and danger of exhaustion. Resilience is the idea of becoming capable of enduring moral discomfort and struggle. Nurses who frequently find themselves in circumstances where they need to show resilience might share their experiences and carry out group treatments based on meditation and resilience retraining. Such instruction teaches stress-reduction strategies and the advantages of self-care (Delgado et al., 2017). With nurses in leadership positions, the team’s environment may change for the better, making it more successful and enhancing mindsets, contentment, and career longevity.
Evidence-Based Practice
Guidelines can be improved significantly with the help of nurses, especially unit leaders. The introduction of practice standards among employees founded on evidence-based criteria, such as those that support stability and transparency in teamwork climates through the sharing of knowledge and information, can be accomplished by nurse leaders utilizing interconnected techniques and actions. For instance, a new policy addressing handoffs might be implemented to reduce miscommunication and foster stronger cooperation amongst different team members in the multifunctional group in order to increase collaboration and data exchange. The patient outcomes will be considerably improved, and the team’s environment will also be enhanced.
The fact that a nursing practice necessitates the knowledge of other general practitioners means that the evidence-based component can only be fully implemented in the context of interprofessional teams. The environment of the organization will alter dramatically to emphasize expert interaction and the sharing of knowledge. Since nursing practices will be completely factual, based on facts, and incorporate the professional understanding of several medical professionals, the patient outcomes will also greatly enhance.
Conclusion
In the intensive care unit, interprofessional teams play a crucial role in delivering high-quality and effective care. The intricacy and high-stress atmosphere do provide some difficulties, though. By pushing for staff equity, leading efforts on resilience, and incorporating evidence-based practices into client handoffs, a nurse may use the iCare paradigm and contribute to changes in communications, mindsets, and processes. The environment of an interprofessional group may undergo substantial change as a result of the model. By displaying advocacy and participation, as well as engaging with all team participants and nurse leaders to address any barriers to interprofessional cooperation, it is essential to put these improvements into practice at the place of employment.
References
Delgado, C., Upton, D., Ranse, K., Furness, T., & Foster, K. (2017). Nurses’ resilience and the emotional labour of nursing work: An integrative review of empirical literature. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 70(1), 71-88.
Hays-Grudo, J., Morris, A. S., Beasley, L., Ciciolla, L., Shreffler, K., & Croff, J. (2021). Integrating and synthesizing adversity and resilience knowledge and action: The ICARE model. American Psychologist, 76(2), 203–215.
Ortiz, M. R. (2018). Patient-centered care: Nursing knowledge and policy. Nursing Science Quarterly, 31(3), 291–295.