Background Evidence reflects that effective collaboration leads to improved care quality, patient satisfaction, nurse and physician retention, as well as decreased length of stay, readmissions, and costs. While interprofessional collaboration is widely accepted as the gold standard for health care, room for improvement exists within the nurse–physician relationship. Purpose To evaluate the impact of a shadowing experience on nursing and resident perceptions of communication and collaboration through a shared clinical experience in providing direct patient care. Methods From 2016 to 2020, the Internal Medicine Residency Training Program and Medical-Surgical Nursing Department collaborated to pair all internal medicine residents with a nurse preceptor for a 12-hour shift, where participants worked side-by-side in providing patient care. A total of 148 residents and 75 nurse preceptors participated in the study and were provided with a checklist of nursing activities as a guideline. Both residents and nurses completed a questionnaire regarding the shadowing experience utilizing a 5-point Likert scale, with questions focusing on collaboration and communication, program value, and impact on practice. Results The study found increases in resident communication with nurses from pre-intervention to post-intervention, as well as enjoyment of collaboration with nurses and understanding of the nurse’s role. Residents believed that the program should be included for all residents at the beginning of their training; similarly, nurses advocated for the program, believing that the program would improve physician–nurse communication and collaboration. Conclusion Interprofessional training through a Nurse-for-a-Day Program may strengthen nurse–resident relations by cultivating understanding essential for effective collaboration through mutual role understanding.

Purpose The health information management (HIM) profession lacks clarity around leadership and leadership development. To date, little empirical research exists on this topic, and it is unclear if broader approaches for healthcare leadership are suitable. This paper aims to explore which the leadership styles are relevant to the HIM profession. The findings were also used to inform a discussion on how HIM professionals could develop these leadership styles. Design/methodology/approach Through a systematic scoping literature review, deductive thematic analysis was undertaken to extrapolate common themes around this style of leadership based on transversal competency domains that reflect twenty-first century skills (i.e. critical thinking and innovation, interpersonal, intrapersonal and global citizenship) (Bernard, Watch and Ryan, 2016; UNESCO, 2015). This approach enabled the findings to be discussed from a leadership development perspective. Findings Analysis of the literature revealed that a relational leadership style through a team-based approach is required. Literature studies on how to develop leadership competencies were not found. Research limitations/implications Future policy and research implications include the need for research on transversal competencies to determine if they can shape HIM leadership development. Practical implications This leadership style and competencies proposed are relevant across many occupations and may have broader applications for leadership research, education and development. Originality/value This paper defines the style of leadership required in the HIM profession and identifies a succinct set of contemporary competencies to inform the development of this type of leadership.

Background Research is an important activity that informs knowledge and practice. The research culture within the Australian Health Information Management (HIM) profession has not been previously reported. Objective This study explored the perceptions of HIM practitioners about research in their role to establish if there is a research culture in the Australian HIM profession. Method An online survey was distributed to the HIM community using a snowball recruitment strategy. Results Of the 149 respondents, more than half (54%) identified they possessed research skills from prior education, whilst 40% considered they had a strong knowledgebase in conducting research. However, only a quarter of respondents indicated that they should undertake research in their role. Barriers to undertaking research included recognition, organisational support and time. Discussion The findings from this study reflected other studies within clinical workforces. The lack of recognition and support to incorporate research into practitioner roles has implications for the profession and its body of knowledge. Conclusion Advocating for research to be incorporated into practitioner roles is required to inform knowledge and practice. Increased professional development opportunities may create a stronger research culture within the HIM profession in Australia and strengthen the position of the profession within health.

Transversal competency development in healthcare professionals: A scoping literature review to identify effective educational paradigms, principles and strategies

Background: Innovation is associated with improvement, however, there is little published about the “ingredients” for successful innovation in healthcare, and the skills required of Health Service Managers (HSMs) who facilitate change in their organisations.   Aim: This paper synthesizes the findings of a literature review performed to describe the organizational and contextual factors that enable and sustain innovation in healthcare settings.   Implications for the practice of Health Service Management and curriculum development have been extrapolated as innovation has been identified as a solution to escalating health system demands in a rapidly changing environment.Approach: A literature review used a systematic approach to source articles from the Scopus and Emerald databases over the period of 1993 to February 2016.  Papers were also retrieved from a BMC Health Services Research weekly alert.  Snowballing from relevant articles identified additional and significant papers.  Grey literature, peer-reviewed papers and reports were similarly reviewed to incorporate contemporary perspectives on this topic across the business, health and University sectors, and to facilitate discussion of the skills and competencies for HSMs practice and education in relation to this topic. Context: Innovation is crucial to the sustainability and viability of Australia’s world class health system.  There is potential for innovation to lead to more cost-effective and efficient ways to address the challenges of limited health budgets and increasingly complex morbidities in an ageing population. Main findings: Successful innovation according to the literature, is determined by a complex interaction of determinants including organizational culture, support and resourcing for innovation, leadership and a clear and shared vision.  An organizational culture supportive of innovation includes strong transdisciplinary communication, engaged and invested staff and recognition of the role of innovation in health improvement and outcomes.  A setting that is open to identifying, testing and evaluating initiatives for innovation requires capabilities to establish and maintain the working relationships, team dynamics and to prioritise resourcing to facilitate and sustain new ways of working, services, products or technologies.Recent research on the skills required for health service management employability and career success was also examined and identified the importance of skills such as communication, creativity and problem solving.  These skills are critical and linked to the role of the HSM in accelerating innovation in their organisations.Conclusions: The key ingredients for successful innovation in health were inferred from the literature.  HSMs are well positioned to support innovation as they possess the necessary technical and professional skillsets. The literature suggests that the development of graduate skills in the areas of communication, problem solving, and team work is critical to meet industry needs and for HSMs to enable innovation.Universities educating health service managers strive to ensure that graduates are professionals equipped to lead and manage health services. HSM graduates can foster the organizational and contextual factors that sustain and sanction innovative ideas to flourish and progress to implementation.  Current research advocates that strong industry and higher education collaboration is important to further develop the graduate attributes necessary for innovation.