Organizational Recommendations

Recommendation 2.1:

Organizations develop strategies to encourage and enable effective teamwork.

Recommendation 2.2:

Organizations   build   a   transformational   or   relational leadership culture that provides clear policies and supports effective   teamwork.

Recommendation 2.3:

Organizations develop systems and processes that promote collaboration and continuity of patient/client care. They can do that by:

• implementing shared governance models that empower staff at all levels
• supporting all nursing staff working to their full scope of practice; and
• encouraging staff to engage in communities of practice for support and mentorship.

Recommendation 2.4:

Organizations  develop  systems  and  processes  to  support  nurses engaging  in  intra-professional  practice . They  can  do  this  by:

• developing and providing intra-professional learning opportunities and evaluating effectiveness
• developing competencies for intra-professional practice that are linked to performance appraisals
• providing opportunities for feedback on intra-professional practice

Recommendation 2.5:

Organizations   develop   outcome   measures   for   evaluating   the effectiveness   of   intra-professional   collaborative   practice.  Those indicators   could   include

• patient/client and family experience and satisfaction;
• nursing turnover rates, overtime, absenteeism, engagement and satisfaction;
• infection rates, fall ratios, re-admission rates .
• delayed or missed nursing interventions, gaps in continuity of care and caregiver, appropriate staff mix and skill levels; and
• eliminating obstacles (e.g.  broken  or  malfunctioning equipment,  complacency)   to   evaluation   processes

Recommendation 2.6:

Organizations encourage and develop preceptors in order to make the intra-professional collaborative environment more welcoming for students and new staff. They can do this by:

• Assigning preceptors from the same class of nursing (e.g. RN student to RN preceptor)
• selecting, assigning and supporting willing preceptors to work with students or new staff placed on the team;
• informing preceptors of students’ learning objectives and ensuring good communication between academic and clinical settings; and
• reducing preceptors’ caseloads to give them sufficient time to meet student nurses’ learning objectives.

Recommendation 2.7:

Organizations develop conflict management policies, practices and interventions by teaching and supporting managers and colleagues to address intra-professional relational challenges.