External/ System Recommendations

Recommendation 3.1:

Governments promote sustainable intra-professional collaborative nursing by allocating funding for

• Intra-professional collaborative team development and evaluation initiatives;
• nursing leadership development initiatives;
• design, implementation and evaluation of approaches for safe and equitable workload;
• technology to support team interaction;
• staffing levels to provide person-centred models of care; and
• recruitment   and   retention

Recommendation 4.1:

Research is needed on how changing work structures affect intra-professional collaborative nursing in all health-care sectors.

Recommendation 5.1:

Health services accreditation bodies include evidence-based standards and criteria for collaborative intra-professional practice as part of their standards.

Recommendation 6.1:

Educators and educational institutions promote professionalism and intra-professional collaborative nursing and be role models of both. They can do this by

• introducing case studies that depict realistic team issues and scenarios (building the complexity along the continuum of the program);
• focusing elective courses on teams and team functioning;
• offering courses on respectful interaction and conflict resolution;
• setting learning objectives focused on social and relational issues;
• demonstrating collaborative teamwork during clinical placements; and
• providing students with accurate information on role clarity and responsibilities of all members of the health-care team.

Recommendation 7.1:

Nurse professional and regulatory bodies (provincial and national) work together to help their members become more informed about their own and their colleagues’ roles in the health system. They can do this by

• discussing roles and responsibilities associated with their education, skills and knowledge; and
• promoting    respectful,   egalitarian    relationships.