Interprofessional professionalism as a motivating force in interprofessional collaboration

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Medical Education
• Surgical Team Dynamics

Background:

• Professionalism is crucial for successful inter-professional collaboration (IPC).
• Understanding elements of inter-professional professionalism (IPP) is vital for optimizing teamwork in surgical settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the elements of inter-professional professionalism (IPP) that influence inter-professional collaboration (IPC) within surgery teams.
• To identify barriers and facilitators to IPP in the context of surgical team collaboration.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study conducted between 2019 and 2021.
• Involved 15 participants from surgery teams (surgeons, anesthesia nursing, surgical technology nursing).
• Data collected via semi-structured interviews and analyzed using inductive content analysis.

Main Results:

• Analysis yielded 242 codes, 5 sub-categories, 2 categories, and a central theme of "reciprocal accountability in IPP".
• Identified a barrier category: "weakness in accountability to team-based values".
• Identified a facilitator category: "responsibility of maintaining empathetic relationship within the IP team".

Conclusions:

• Developing IPP, including altruism, empathetic communication, and role accountability, facilitates collaboration.
• Strengthening reciprocal accountability and empathetic relationships are key to improving IPC in surgery teams.
• Addressing weaknesses in accountability to team values is essential for enhancing collaborative practice.