Team Approach to Collaborative Client Care

There are various techniques when it comes to providing older adult patients with quality care. On the one hand, working as a team with other members may be beneficial for the patient. For example, multiple people may take turns when it comes to monitoring patients prone to falling. A team is more successful in mitigating this risk factor (Bahrami et al., 2018). Thus, collaborative care is a safe practice that benefits seniors. On the other hand, patients find it essential to form a human connection and have a primary care provider who can understand, listen, and help them (Kabadayi et al., 2020). This can be achieved at a higher level when one primary nurse is assigned to a patient. Both methods have evidence behind them stating they are effective.

My experience of being a part of a team versus being the individual care provider allowed me to assess both conditions. Both have benefits, but working as a team member is more accessible in terms of mitigating risk factors. If multiple people have the same objective, safety is maintained at higher levels because the senior patients are less prone to being unattended for more extended periods of time. Meeting this objective has given me experience in being a part of a group and working together towards the goal of increasing patient satisfaction and decreasing errors.

Conclusion

Gerontological nursing is a field that has to consider specific factors based on patient-centered care standards. Nurses have to imply intentional learning when studying the field of therapeutic communication, decision-making, culturally-specific models, risk mitigation, and team approaches when working with older adults. Thus, this healthcare field is based on standard medical practice. Yet, specific preferences and cultural specificities have to be considered for providing the level of care that would allow the patient to have high satisfaction levels, low risks, and quality services.

References

Bahrami, M., Purfarzad, Z., Keshvari, M., Rafiei, M., & Sivertsen, N. (2018). Emotional competence: A core competence in gerontological nursing in Iran. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 13(4). Web.