Multidisciplinary communication in nursing is communication that encompasses all aspects of the path of handling patient care and communication. In the field of health communication , multidisciplinary communication occurs between fellow members of the multidisciplinary team and between members of the multidisciplinary team with patients and family members of patients in the context of patient care and treatment.
Good multidisciplinary communication is very important for the team’s success in managing and caring for patients. Therefore, each team member should be equipped with communication training so that each team member has communication skills as part of the patient’s care and treatment efforts.
Definition
According to Wywialowski (2004: 135), multidisciplinary or multidisciplinary refers to a team where a number of people or individuals from various disciplines are involved in a project but each individual works independently. Every individual in a multidisciplinary team has different skills and expertise but complement each other. The experience of each individual contributes greatly to the overall effort made.
We can meet the multidisciplinary team in the health or medical field. In a health or medical environment, a multidisciplinary team is a group of health workers or medical workers consisting of members with different scientific or professional backgrounds and each team member provides health services to patients.
Each team member works independently in handling various problems faced by the patient and they only focus on the problems that they specialize in.
Problems handled can be related or not related to other problems faced by individual team members.
The success of multidisciplinary teams in handling and caring for patients is determined by several things one of which is effective communication . A good multidisciplinary team is a team that shares ideas or information quickly and regularly.
Every important note is kept in writing as a way for the team to reflect on themselves. Regarding patient care and treatment, good communication skills possessed by team members are central to patient safety and effective teamwork.
Communication should be patient-centered. This is intended to support patient-centered care and patient safety.
For this reason, patients and their families should be considered active members of the multidisciplinary team. Involving patients as team members can improve the safety and quality of patient care because the patient acts as the main source of information and is the only team member that is always present during patient care and treatment.
By using a patient-centered communication approach, the patient will feel involved in the whole process of treatment and care.
In addition, nurses as part of team members can also understand what are the patient’s problems such as anxiety, pain, and difficulty sleeping. Therefore, nurses need to share their perceptions with patients, explaining nurses’ understanding of what the patient wants to communicate. In other words, nurses need to know and understand how to communicate well or how to communicate effectively with patients .
There are several ways of multidisciplinary communication in nursing that can be applied when communicating with patients, namely:
- Creating good interpersonal relationships
Creating and maintaining good relationships is important in managing and treating patients. The study results show that communication and good relations between patients and team members have a positive impact on patient satisfaction, knowledge and understanding, adherence to treatment programs, and measurable health outcomes.
- Exchange information
The team member, the doctor, needs to get as much information from the patient as possible in order to diagnose the exact type of illness the patient is suffering from and formulate a plan for treatment and treatment. For patients, patients need to know, understand, feel known, and understood by team members. For this reason, both parties really need to do two-way communication in an effort to exchange information.
- Listen actively and attentively
Active and attentive listening is one of the causes of success in communication . The nurse as a team member is responsible for paying attention and mobilizing all the senses to perceive all verbal and nonverbal messages given by the patient.
By listening actively and attentively, nurses can assess the situation and problems experienced by patients. In addition nurses can also improve patient self-esteem and integrate nursing diagnoses and treatment processes.
- Use the right language
Information provided during the patient consultation, treatment and care process needs to be done using language that can be understood by the patient and patient members. Language as a communication tool in the process of consultation, treatment and care of patients should not use jargon and technical terms of health unless explained comprehensively. What must be avoided is the use of euphemisms as they can lead to ambiguity.
- Body language and appearance
Body language in communication and appearance should also be taken into consideration and needs to be considered properly.
Various nonverbal communication displayed such as body posture, style, and behavior can have an impact on the progress and outcome of consultations between patients and team members. For this reason, the body language displayed during the consultation process must be displayed in full and focus on the patient.
- Be honest
Being honest is one of the moral concepts in nursing communication . Team members such as nurses must be honest so that discussions or consultations carried out do not cause suspicion, doubt, and misunderstanding. If there is a need for a separate discussion with the patient’s family members it must be done using therapeutic communication techniques such as caution, paying attention to the place of discussion, and the right time.
- Pay attention to patient needs
Team members such as patients need to know what the patient’s communication needs are. Some patients just want to be heard without much explanation and some other patients want to know a complete explanation of the illness. The nurse must be able to detect everything that the patient wants.
- Develop an attitude of empathy
Empathy is one of the characteristics of therapeutic communication . What is meant by empathy is the nurse can feel what is felt by the patient. In a sense, the nurse should be able to position herself in the patient’s position.
Thus a brief review of the way of multidisciplinary communication in nursing. Hopefully it can broaden our horizons and knowledge about multidisciplinary communication and its application in nursing.