The Utility of Collaborative Teamwork for Nursing Students in the Acute Care Setting

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Interprofessional Healthcare
• Experiential Learning

Background:

• Prelicensure nursing students require effective clinical experiences.
• Acute care settings necessitate strong interprofessional collaboration.
• Understanding diverse healthcare roles is crucial for patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce nursing students to interprofessional healthcare team roles.
• To highlight the value of interprofessional collaboration and communication.
• To develop and evaluate an innovative experiential learning assignment.

Main Methods:

• Implemented an experiential learning assignment during adult acute care clinicals.
• Focused on awareness of interprofessional team member roles.
• Gathered student feedback and evaluated learning outcomes.

Main Results:

• The assignment successfully introduced students to interprofessional roles.
• Students recognized the value of collaboration and communication.
• Positive feedback indicated the effectiveness of the experiential approach.

Conclusions:

• Experiential learning assignments can effectively enhance interprofessional awareness in nursing education.
• Future implementation should build upon lessons learned for continuous improvement.
• This approach supports the development of collaborative healthcare professionals.