In every workplace environment, one of the most critical skills that define success is effective communication. Effective communication can be defined as a process that allows for the exchange of ideas, thoughts, and information in a manner such that the intention is achieved in the best possible way. In other words, effective communication is a sender’s ability to present views in a manner best understood by the receiver. The greatest challenge that organizations are facing today is their inability to promote communication, which the Joint Commission attributes to the root cause of 66% of Sentinel Events between 1995 and 2005. As such, it can be argued companies need to adopt a valuable strategy that would advance their ability to promote communication as a way of defining their success. It is, therefore, necessary to understand the different aspects associated with effective communication, which include identifying components necessary for effective interpersonal communication and discussing the importance of interprofessional collaboration.
Interpersonal communication refers to the process in which two or more persons exchange information. Effectiveness in interpersonal communication depends on several key components, each of which is considered as an important step to achieving efficiency in communication (D’Agostino et al., 2017). The first component of interpersonal communication is listening. In this process of communication, each of the parties is expected to listen in a manner that would advance their overall capacity to communicate. The expectation is that the parties must not only focus on servicing as the sender of information but must also act as a receiver for the communication to be considered effective. Listening does not involve the physical process of hearing but integrates physical, emotional, and intellectual processes that ensure information is well understood and processed effectively. From this perspective, it is clear that, indeed, listening is a crucial part of interpersonal communication, as it guarantees overall success in the manner in which information is shared.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The second component that defines effectiveness in interpersonal communication is clarity of expression. When one party is sending information, as part of interpersonal communication, the expectation is that the information sent ought to be specific to promote clarity. In cases where a sender incorporates different ideas into the same message, it becomes much harder for the receiver to decode the exact intention; thus, affecting overall clarity of the information shared. Transparency acts as a guarantee that interpersonal communication will achieve its projected goal, which is to ensure information exchange between parties involved (D’Agostino et al., 2017). The last component of effective interpersonal communication is self-concept. A person’s self-concept defines who he/she is and the information he/she intends to pass along. The self-concept tends to have a significant impact on the way one communicates, as it serves as a determinant of the strategy adopted to promote efficiency in communication.
Importance of Interprofessional Collaboration
Interprofessional collaboration refers to a strategic approach for workers from different professional backgrounds, to work together to achieve a common goal or objective. This type of collaboration is important, as it helps in the empowerment of individual members of the team from a personal and professional perspective. Advocating for interprofessional collaboration serves as a guarantee that different members of the group would experience some form of empowerment; thus, advancing their abilities to improve on their capacities to provide services in an effective way (Foronda et al., 2016). Another critical reason why interprofessional collaboration is essential is that it helps in closing the communication gaps between workers at different professional levels. The interprofessional partnership means that workers would be in a much better position to work together irrespective of their professional background, which eliminates some of the key contributors to non-effective communication.
Interpersonal Communication Components and Interprofessional Collaboration
The application of interpersonal communication components to interprofessional collaboration involves a process of determining how the elements identified may help achieve success in interprofessional collaboration. The component of listening and clarity of expression apply to interprofessional collaboration, as they define how members of interprofessional teams ought to build on their capacity to communicate. The success of interprofessional teams depends solely on the ability to communicate in a manner that is effective (Foronda et al., 2016). Therefore, this introduction the need for individual members to learn the value of listening to the opinions and ideas presented by other members. The objective is that the team will use the different opinions presented in a manner that guarantees success in the communication process. Additionally, individual members of interprofessional teams should also work towards promoting clarity in their expression of ideas and opinions. Clarity would be of great importance to ensure that their views are considered when the teams are making decisions.
Strategies to Promote Interprofessional Collaboration
Achievement of success in interprofessional collaboration depends wholly on the strategies that have been put in place, which would push workers from different professional backgrounds to work together. The first strategy for achieving interprofessional collaboration is establishing common goals for workers irrespective of their position or professional background. In health care, the basic idea is to create common goals that would require health professionals to work together as a way of guaranteeing success (Foronda et al., 2016). Having shared goals would mean that different professionals would need to put their ideas, opinions, and views together to help deliver on the best possible outcomes. The second strategy to consider involves interprofessional training. Engagement in training and development programs may serve as a guarantee for effective interprofessional collaboration. The agenda will help highlight the importance of interprofessional collaboration with the view being that this would help create an effective front through which interprofessional teams are able to operate.
Effective Strategies to Build Interprofessional Teams
Building interprofessional teams focus on several key strategies that would ensure that the teams surpass their intended goals and objectives. The first strategic approach involves encouraging participation in interdepartmental training, which is intended to introduce the zeal and desire for individuals to work as part of interprofessional teams. Participation in interdepartmental training would mean that members of interprofessional teams will be in a much better position to gain insight into other roles in the workplace environment (Stevens, et al., 2019). Additionally, this would also mean that members will also develop a sense of empathy towards the roles that other workers play that defines the success of the entire team. The outcome is that this would push these members towards working in interprofessional teams, which will help introduce multiple viewpoints on some of the issues being considered; thus, improving decision making.
The second strategy that would be of value towards creating an interprofessional team is promoting multidisciplinary rounds intending to improve communication between different departments. Engaging multidisciplinary rounds involves having to ensure that workers do not only operate in a single department but can also be assigned roles in other departments (Dubno et al., 2019). The idea is to create an environment where workers are comfortable working in any department; thus, improving their capacity to work towards a common goal. Multidisciplinary rounds will play a critical role in advocating for the need for workers to ask any underlying questions that they would have, as well as seek clarification where necessary. The rounds will also encourage workers to introduce the possibility of working together as part of interprofessional teams with the view that this would serve as a guarantee of success in the achievement of set goals and objectives.
Cultural Competence
In health care, cultural competence is viewed as the ability of a health system to provide quality services to patients with diverse values, beliefs and behaviors, and cultural and linguistic needs. The effectiveness of a health care system is determined by its ability to offer the best possible services to its patients. In cases where a system is described as being culturally competent, it is expected that the system acknowledges the importance of culture. Additionally, cultural competence will also involve the incorporation of assessments to help determine cross-cultural relations. Assessing cross-cultural relationships consists of a process of having to determine whether a health system has put in place relevant features that would ensure individuals receive quality care regardless of their cultural background. The assessment will help determine areas of improvement focused on the achievement of the best possible outcomes. The other key aspect to note in defining cultural competence is that a health system is expected to have expanded cultural knowledge and adapt to meet the unique cultural needs reflected based on the knowledge. It means that the level of understanding of culture ought to be significant, which would serve act as a guarantee for the achievement of success.
Conclusion
Communication is one of the critical aspects that define success or failure in an organization. However, organizations are facing significant challenges in defining their approaches to effective communication; thus, affecting their capacities to meet their respective objectives. The three key components of effective interpersonal communication discussed are listening clarity of expression and the self-concept. Interprofessional collaboration is important because it promotes the empowerment of individual members of the team from a personal and professional perspective and helps in closing the communication gaps. The achievement of success in creating interprofessional teams depends solely on the ability to promote willingness among workers to work in such teams. Lack of willingness is much more likely to fail the interprofessional teams.
References
D’Agostino, T. A., Atkinson, T. M., Latella, L. E., Rogers, M., Morrissey, D., DeRosa, A. P., & Parker, P. A. (2017). Promoting patient participation in healthcare interactions through communication skills training: a systematic review. Patient education and counseling , 100 (7), 1247-1257.
Foronda, C., MacWilliams, B., & McArthur, E. (2016). Interprofessional communication in healthcare: An integrative review. Nurse education in practice , 19 , 36-40.
Stevens, M. N., Dubno, J. R., Wallhagen, M. I., & Tucci, D. L. (2019). Communication and healthcare: Self-reports of people with hearing loss in primary care settings. Clinical gerontologist , 42 (5), 485-494.
