Interdisciplinary Interview

Assignment Overview:

This assignment has three (3) sections:

1. First, you will interview a member of the interdisciplinary team at the facility where you currently work. This team member may include respiratory therapists, physical/occupational/speech therapists, case managers, social services, imaging staff, laboratory technicians, pharmacists, or other interdisciplinary healthcare providers. Some team members, such as remote case managers, telehealth providers, or virtual pharmacists, may function virtually. Please contact your faculty member if you wish to interview a clinician in another discipline who’s not on this list. During your interview, address each specific topic by using the list of questions below. You must include the answers to the questions in Part I: The Interview Transcript in your final paper. This can be done as a verbatim interview transcript or a summary, but all questions and responses must be addressed.
2. Next, you will review academic articles from the Galen Library relating to the type of technology the interdisciplinary team member uses. If you select a community practitioner, discuss how the type of technology and/or communication might be different than in a facility setting. The discussion should detail the technology or information system used, its purpose, and other relevant information.
3. Last, you will summarize what you learned from this assignment.

Assignment Instructions:

Using APA formatting, write a three-to-five-page paper (not including the title and references pages). Divide the paper into three sections with a level 1 heading for each part.

Section I: The Interview Transcript (This is your first heading)

Interview the team member using the following questions. Please provide a transcript or summary of the interview in this part.

1. What type of technology (technologies) does your specialty utilize?
2. How does the technology you use enhance internal and external communications between the interdisciplinary team (i.e., pharmacists, technicians, physicians, advanced medical care providers, and nurses)?
3. Describe the process from the time an order is written until the time the order can be carried out?
4. What are some of the processes or policies implemented to ensure patient safety?
5. What challenges, related to the use of technology and electronic information, have you experienced? In your practice what solutions have you implemented and/or changes have you made to address these challenges?
6. How has informatics helped and/or hindered patient education?
7. Are there other questions I didnt ask that you were anticipating?

Section II: Integrate the Findings from the Literature (2-4 paragraphs)

1. Research the type of technology used (platform, documenting equipment, or applications, etc.).
2. Select two scholarly articles which support the types of technology(ies) identified in providing care including its use, and any other relevant information. Please consider what best practices the literature illustrates for the use of technology in this discipline.

Section III: Analysis (3-4 paragraphs)

Elaborate as to what you learned about the specific type of technology utilized by the team member; explain its uses and functions, pros and cons, etc. Analyze what youve learned by explaining both the positive aspects and negative aspects of the technology used by the interdisciplinary team member you interviewed. What is the nurse’s role in using the technology(ies) identified to collaborate with the discipline of the team member you interviewed? Are there processes or aspects of the technology that could be improved upon? Include information from the literature to support your analysis. Be sure to use in-text citations to show where your references informed your writing.

Interdisciplinary Team Member Interviewed: Respiratory Therapist (RT)

Practice Setting: Acute Care Hospital

The respiratory therapist explained that their role relies heavily on technology to monitor and support patients respiratory status. Some of the most common technologies used include ventilators, BiPAP and CPAP machines, oxygen delivery systems, and bedside monitoring equipment such as pulse oximetry and capnography. The respiratory therapist also uses the hospitals electronic health record (EHR) to review patient orders, document treatments, and communicate with physicians and nurses.