Problem solving in small multidisciplinary teams: a means of improving the quality of the communication environment for people with profound learning disability
✍ Scribed by Susan Dobson; Susan Dodsworth; Maureen Miller
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 264 KB
- Volume
- 28
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1354-4187
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Nurses and speech and language therapists who work with adults with profound learning disabilities frequently experience difficulties with mutual interprofessional role expectations. These stresses arise because of the unique fluid and temporal nature of the multidisciplinary teams in day care settings. The unit in which the present project occurred was very successful in attracting community visitors. A previously identified problem was the effect that these visitors had on the continuity of the communication environment. The pilot project had shown that the staff team needed to identify a method of effectively sharing information about communication. The nurses, and the speech and language therapist used this problem as a team development exercise. It defined the roles of the team members, explored their knowledge and skills, and developed mutual respect between the different professions. The present study describes both how the solution to the problem was identified, and how it developed the team and the individual's knowledge and respect for their different roles.