Collaboration in Teaching-Learning: Honoring the Wisdom of Diverse Perspectives

As complexity challenges healthcare providers across disciplines, calls arise for greater collaboration across settings and disciplines. In this column, the importance of honoring the wisdom of the diverse perspectives of collaborators with varying educational and experiential backgrounds is explored. For authentic collaboration to be possible, collaborators must have a solid theoretical, scientific, and experiential foundation within their particular discipline. The challenge for nurse faculty is to prepare students for collaboration by providing teaching-learning opportunities for building a solid foundation in the discipline, being clear about the distinctions across disciplines as well as the distinctions among the many degree levels within nursing.