DGD14-017

Interprofessional Learning, Education and Practice

Policy

Policy Statement

ACT Health is committed to promoting and embedding interprofessional collaborative practice and learning across all agencies, teams and individuals involved in delivering health care within ACT Health and in collaboration with other external agencies and teams.

Interprofessional collaborative care occurs when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds work together withpatients/clients, families, carers and communities to deliver the highest quality care within and across settings (WHO 2010).

Development and application of interprofessional collaborative practice and learning with the associated interprofessional competences is essential to improve quality and best practice patient/client care, as well as workplace quality and culture (HWA 2013, CIHC 2010). Interprofessional collaboration is a patient/client-centred, team-based approach that maximises the skills, knowledge and attitudes of each contributing health care worker thus strengthening health systems and improving health outcomes(WHO 2010).

Purpose

Interprofessional learning and practice can significantly improve client/patient outcomes. The purpose of this policy is to:

  • Outline ACT Health commitment to implement interprofessional collaborative practice and learning
  • Define interprofessional collaborative practice, learning and competencies
  • Assign accountabilities and responsibilities for its implementation across ACT Health
  • Complement the implementation of the ACT Health values ( i.e. Care, Excellence, Collaboration and Integrity)

Scope

This policy applies to all health professionals working in direct and indirect patient/client care in ACT Health.

Roles & Responsibilities

Director-General and Deputy Director-General

  • Provide leadership, supportand endorsement of interprofessional collaborative practice and learning goals in strategic and organisational priorities.

Executive Directors

  • Provide leadership, support, and endorsement for interprofessional collaborative practice and learning activities across ACT Healthsuch as business plans, interprofessional workshops/research conferences, quality improvement projects and models of services which support interprofessional collaborative practice.
  • Identify resources as required to support interprofessional collaborative practice and learning activities.

Managers

  • Recruit, induct and support health professional staff that demonstrate and value interprofessional competencies (HWA 2013, CIHC 2010).
  • Provide leadership, implementation and support for attendance at interprofessional collaborative practice, networking and learning activities.
  • Develop quality improvement and workplace processes or activities which support interprofessional collaborative practice and effective teamwork and communication.

All Health Professionals

  • Demonstrate and embed interprofessional competencies (HWA 2013, CIHC 2010) in work roles with patients/clients and with colleagues.
  • Actively seek out and apply the learning’s from cultural awareness training when building patient/client and team partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
  • Display leadership to promote and support interprofessional collaborative practice.
  • Actively seek out interprofessional learning opportunities and apply learning to practice.

Interprofessional Collaborative Practice & Learning Co-ordinator

  • Co-ordinate, support and evaluate policyimplementation.
  • Facilitate and support interprofessional learning and/or quality improvement activities.
  • Display leadership to promote and support interprofessional collaborative practice within ACT Health and in partnership with other health and educational organisations.

Evaluation

Many teams and staff are committed to interprofessional collaborative practice and learning and this commitment influences the way they work with patients/clients, families and work colleagues. It also influences the learning, strategic or education activities they organise or participate in. All staff are encouraged to include learning goalsfocussed on behaviour and collaboration in their performance plan as a way of developing teamwork skills (ACTPS 2013).It is difficult to measure all interprofessional activities and outcomes occurring across ACT Health. The outcome measures listed below capture some data as a snapshot in the areas of learning, quality improvement/evaluation activities and workforce development.

Outcome Measures

  • Learning opportunities to build interprofessional competencies are offered to staff and are identified in the Education Activity Register and/or on Capabiliti.
  • Evidence of interprofessional collaborative practice service or quality improvement activitiesregistered on ACT Health Quality Improvement Register or Project Register.
  • Health professional position descriptions include requirements related to knowledge or demonstration of effective interprofessional competencies for example: provision of care, collaborative practice, health values professional, ethical & legal approach, life-long learning(HWA 2013, CIHC 2010).
  • For example: Demonstrates team communication skills to facilitate participation of clients as partners in health care,
  • Demonstrates good understanding of their role and values the knowledge and skills of other health professions in establishing and achieving health outcomes for the patient/client.
  • Demonstrates collaborative leadership to create a climate of shared decision making or shared leadership in service delivery.
  • Experience in leading and motivating staff to strive for and achieve interprofessional team goals
  • Support a work culture in which interprofessional teamwork and shared responsibility for provision of care is normative practice

Method

  • Annual review of Education Activity Register and/or Capabiliti to identify learning opportunities linked to interprofessional competencies.
  • Annual review of quality improvement and project register to identify evidence of interprofessional collaborative practice improvement activities.
  • Review of position descriptions to identify evidence of interprofessional competencies included in the criteria.This review will be completed by checking all positions descriptions or EOI’s posted on the ACT Health website over 1 month (3 times a year) for inclusion of selection criteria relevant to demonstrating interprofessional competencies (HWA 2013, CIHC 2010).
  • Annual summary of organisational measures and plans to address any identified interprofessional issuesfrom the risk register or clinical review process. This willbe completed with collaboration of Quality and Safety Unit.

The evaluation will be completed by Interprofessional Collaborative Practice and Learning Co-ordinator(Chief Allied Health Office) at the end of each year and presented to Executive Directors in all Divisions, Chief Medical Administrator, Chief Nurse and Chief Allied Health Officer and to the Director of Staff Development Unit for consideration in future planning.

Related Legislation, Policies and Standards

Policies

Health Directorate Corporate Plan 2012-2017 is the organisation’s long term strategic plan and incorporates the organisation’s vision, key focus areas and priorities, including one priority of “Supporting and strengthening the teams”.

ACT Health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Action Plan 2013-2018 outlines key workforce needs and strategies to train, attract and retain a safe and quality health workforce. It also identifies strategies to build an effective, responsive and culturally safe health service delivery.

ACT Health Workforce Plan – 2012-2017outlines key workforce needs and strategies to train, attract and retain a safe and quality health workforce.

ACT Primary Health Strategy 2011-2014 This strategy outlines the national and local context, priorities and actions to meet the primary health care needs of clients. This includes actions for improving continuity and coordination of care especially for people with chronic disease

ACT Public Service Performance Framework Policy 2013-2015 The purpose of the policy is to set out the objectives for the performance management and development in the ACT Public Service. There are associated resources to support the policy.

Standards

Standards of Practice for ACT Allied Health Professionals 2004. This document identifies for example standards pertaining to interaction with the client and continuing professional development.

Definition of Terms

Definitions

Education Activity Register(EAR) The EAR records a brief summation of all programs that are offered through ACT Health which are over three hours in duration and offered more than once a year. Programs fitting the above criteria must have an EAR before they are registered with Capabiliti.

Health ProfessionalThe term ‘health professional’ is an inclusive term in this context including nurses, midwives, allied health professionals nursing and allied health assistants, dentists, pharmacists, medical scientists, paramedics, doctors and many others involved in delivering direct or indirect client care.

Interprofessional collaborative practice: “when multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds work together with patients, families, carers and communities to deliver the highest quality care” Elements of collaboration include respect, trust, shared decision making and partnerships (World Health Organisation2010).

Interprofessional learning: “when two or more health professionals learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes (World Health Organisation2010).

Interprofessional competency domainsidentify the knowledge skills, attitudes and values that shape the judgments essential for interprofessional collaborative practice. These domains include: interprofessional communication, patient/client/family/community centred care, role clarification, team functioning, collaborative leadership and interprofessional conflict resolution. Descriptors also exist in the competency framework to further define the skills, knowledge and values within each domain. (CIHC: Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative2010).

References

Framework for Action on Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice 2010 World Health Organisation

A National Interprofessional Competency Framework 2010 Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC)

National Health Workforce Innovation and Reform Strategic Framework for Reform 2011-2015 Health Workforce Australia

National Common Health Capability Resource: Shared activities and behaviours in the Australian Health Workforce 2013.

Attachments

N/A

Disclaimer: This document has been developed by ACT Health specifically for its own use. Use of this document and any reliance on the information contained therein by any third party is at his or her own risk and ACT Health assumes no responsibility whatsoever.

Doc Number / Issued / Review Date / Area Responsible / Page
DGD14-017 / Jan 2014 / Dec 2018 / Chief Allied Health Office / 1 of 5
Do not refer to a paper based copy of this policy document. The most current version can be found on the ACT Health Policy Register