Exploring the Value of Technology to Stimulate Interprofessional Discussion and Education: A Needs Assessment of Emergency Medicine Professionals

Abstract

BackgroundThe emergency department (ED) is an environment fraught with increasing patient volumes, competing priorities, fluctuating information, and ad hoc interprofessional clinical teams. Limited time is available to reflect on and discuss clinical experiences, policies, or research with others on the involved team. Online resources, such as webcasts and blogs, offer an accessible platform for emergency shift workers to engage in interprofessional discussion and education.ObjectiveOur objective was to explore the current opportunities for shared learning and discussion and to discover the potential of online resources to foster and facilitate interprofessional education within an academic tertiary emergency department community.MethodsA qualitative study using semistructured interviews was conducted to solicit participants’ views of the current culture of IPE in the ED, the potential value of introducing new online resources and technology in support of IPE, and possible barriers to uptake. Participation was voluntary and participants provided verbal informed consent.ResultsOnline resources discussed included webcasts, interactive discussion forums, websites, and dashboard with links to central repositories. Identified barriers to uptake of new online resources were an unwillingness to “work” off-shift, a dislike of static one-directional communication, concerns with confidentiality, and the suggestion that new resources would be used by only a select few.ConclusionsOwing to the sensitive dynamics of emergency medicine—and the preference among its professional staff to foster interprofessional discussion and education through personal engagement, in an unhurried, non-stressful environment—introducing and investing in online resources should be undertaken with caution.

Physician agreement regarding the expansion of pharmacist professional activities in the management of patients with asthma

“…Paediatrician's resistance might be associated with the greater challenges to accurately assess control and manage asthma in the growing child including physical examination, third‐party reporting of symptoms, variety of phenotype classifications and worry about ICS adverse effects requiring regular growth monitoring. In contrast, as emergency physicians recognise the importance of prescribing long‐term asthma controllers and the benefit of a follow‐up visit on patient adherence, as their practice setting is not conducive to offering follow‐up, a situation that may explain their strong interest in an interdisciplinary approach . Finally, an enhanced focus on interprofessional collaboration adopted in several medical schools may explain the improved collaborative attitude among younger physicians …”

“…In contrast, as emergency physicians recognise the importance of prescribing long-term asthma controllers [38] and the benefit of a follow-up visit on patient adherence, [39] as their practice setting is not conducive to offering followup, a situation that may explain their strong interest in an interdisciplinary approach. [40] Finally, an enhanced focus on interprofessional collaboration adopted in several medical schools may explain the improved collaborative attitude among younger physicians. [41] Our findings reflect the views of Quebec physicians practicing in a publicly funded health setting where patients are insured for their medications, either publically or privately, and have access to medical care.…”

Development and Validation of Questionnaires Exploring Health Care Professionals' Intention to Use Wiki-Based Reminders to Promote Best Practices in Trauma

“…By definition, a wiki is a product of its users and remains relevant only if its users continue to update it and create new content. Getting experts and other members of a wide community to contribute to a collaborative writing project is a difficult task and a theory-based approach will be needed to stimulate and promote this behavior [ 14 , 39 , 40 ]. Unfortunately, time constraints are a major barrier when studying clinician behavior in the ED [ 41 , 42 ].…”

“…Transfer of these local initiatives to the larger health care community is often slow and complex. In emergency departments (EDs), where shift work is prevalent, getting health care professionals to collaborate in creating, using, and updating decision support tools (eg, care protocols, care pathways, and decision aids) is particularly difficult [ 14 ]. These decision support tools can be translated into paper-based or computer-based reminders that support clinicians’ or patients’ decision making at the bedside.…”

A Secure, Social Media–Based “Case of the Month” Module in a Neurocritical Care Unit

“…Improving engagement when nurses were not present was a challenge as expressed in similar ventures in other specialties. 24 …”