Interprofessional Teams in Action_
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St. Catherine University *
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1150
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Health Science
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
docx
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5
Uploaded by CaptainComputer12574
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Interprofessional Teams in Action
St. Catherine University OTA Program
OTA 1150: Professional Growth and Engagement
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Interprofessional Teams in Action
Interprofessional teams in healthcare are vital to providing quality care to patients and
clients. Interprofessional collaborative practice includes multiple health workers from varying
professional backgrounds. These professionals collaborate or work together with their patients,
families, and community to provide quality care (St. Catherine University OTA Program, 2023).
The article I chose is
Interprofessional Practice in Work Rehabilitation Programs,
written by
Mitchell Voss, MS, MBA, OTR and Jennifer Maronek, OTS. In this article, the authors explore
the collaboration between interprofessional work rehabilitation teams, the methods of
collaboration used amongst the team and the client outcomes from the teams’ collaboration
efforts.
The article explains the importance of knowing the difference between multidisciplinary
and interprofessional teams. With a multidisciplinary approach there is usually a hierarchy of
team members, and they work collaboratively but they provide treatment independently with
each of their own goals in mind (Voss & Maronek, 2020). Interprofessional teams are preferred
because they do not have a hierarchy amongst the professional team, and they work
collaboratively to plan and treat the client with shared goals (Voss & Maronek, 2020). Within the
umbrella of work rehabilitation there are two approaches to treating workers; work conditioning
and work hardening. Work conditioning is used to improve injured workers’ physical deficits to
prepare the workers to return to work or “search for a job through an intensive rehabilitation
program” (Voss & Maronek, 2020, p. 30). Work hardening is an approach that assists workers to
return to work with minimal risk of re-injury.
In the case example, the client, Larry, experienced a work-related injury requiring
multiple surgeries with two physicians, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient occupational
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therapy services. The OT referred Larry to a work rehabilitation program, and his
interprofessional team continued working with him which included his physicians, occupational
and physical therapists, a case manager and the administrators at his workplace (Voss &
Maronek, 2020).
The main goal of Larry and his interprofessional team is to “regain the ability to match
his job demands” and return to work without restrictions (Voss & Maronek, 2020, p. 31). The
occupational therapist team focused on creating a plan of activities for Larry to simulate his job
demands as a house painter. This included carrying and lifting gallons of paint, climbing tall
ladders, and controlling the handheld paint sprayer. Physical therapy focused on strength and
range of motion which included activities of strength exercise, range of motion intervention and
modality use.
The interprofessional team effectively collaborated with Larry through 43 visits within
the interprofessional work rehabilitation program. During his time within the program, Larry’s
OT and PT communicated daily and they updated the physicians weekly on Larry’s progress.
With the dedication of Larry and the interprofessional team, Larry was able to reach his goal of
returning to work. There was only one job demand that he was not able to achieve and that was
due to range of motion limitation. Without the interprofessional team Larry may have had a
longer recovery period and less client centered goals (Voss & Maronek, 2020).
A suggestion that I would make for Larry’s interprofessional team is to add a
psychologist and a nutritionist. With the on-the-job injury that Larry sustained, he may benefit
from seeing a psychologist to work through any anxieties or hesitations he may have. I believe
having a clear mind would benefit his physical recovery. I would suggest a nutritionist because
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Larry is 22 years old, and he may not be receiving the most nutritious meals to support his
intensive work and rehabilitation program.
Exploring work rehabilitation was an interesting experience. Prior to this experience I did
not know much about the work rehabilitation field and now it is on my radar for potential future
practice. I believe it would be a rewarding experience to help clients get back to working in their
chosen profession after injury as well as working on an interprofessional team to maximize the
client’s health and potential.
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References
St. Catherine University OTA Program (2023).
OTA1150 Professional Growth and Engagement
.
Module 6: Interprofessional education, interprofessional collaborative practice and the
triple aim.
https://stkateonline.instructure.com/courses/4119/pages/module-6-
interprofessional-education-interprofessional-collaborative-practice-and-the-triple-aim?
module_item_id=77556
Voss, M., & Maronek, J. (2020). Interprofessional practice in work rehabilitation programs.
SIS
Quarterly Practice Connections, 5
(1), 30–32.