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Saturday, 29 October 2011
Learning Objective 1: Understand global and local guiding documents which describe the key components of interprofessional practice and education
Learning Objective 2: Understand the application of interprofessional practice and education principles to our interprofessional project
A recertification program for fetal health surveillance provides the opportunity for interprofessional learning. In October of 2007, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) Guidelines published new nomenclature and classification system for fetal health, thus stimulating the need for revision of education for all obstetrical care providers. Multiple routes for entry level education for fetal health surveillance resulted in a lack of common understanding of terminology and interpretation of fetal heart tracings. No recertification program currently existed. A project plan consisted of four major components: on-line recertification course; update existing initial training course; policy update as well as a comprehensive practice audit. Each project component had a project leader and each team was comprised of interdisciplinary team members –Nurse, Midwife, Family Practice physician as well as an Obstetrician or Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist. We identified a need to improve the interprofessional communication about fetal health surveillance. We developed a second component of the recertification process to include an interprofessional workshop which is taught as well as attended by all interprofessional care providers. 226 physicians, midwives and nurses have attended our program to date. The results of this process are reflected in patient outcomes with an increase in team collaboration, improved communication between and among care providers as well as improved outcomes for the patients who receive care. Comments such as “Providers use the same terminology in interpreting fetal health assessment”; “It is so much better when all professionals are speaking the same language”; “Good knowledge and responsible, efficient communication between health care providers” stimulated us to complete this program. Our key message is that health care providers want interprofessional collaborative practice, and they need leadership to provide the opportunity to integrate the interprofessional education competencies into the practice setting. Priniciples of collaboration can be applied to other settings.