INTRODUCTION

DEVELOPING PROFESSIONALISM

Professionalism isn’t a single “thing” that can be labeled. Instead, professionalism refers to the aims and behaviors that demonstrate an individual’s level of competence expected by a professional within a given profession. By the word “aims,” we mean that someone who exhibits professionalism is guided by a set of goals in a professional setting. Whether the aim is to complete a project on time or help ensure higher quarterly incomes for the organization, professionalism involves striving to help one’s organization achieve specific goals. By “behaviors,” we mean specific ways of behaving and communicating within an organizational environment. Some common behaviors can include acting ethically, respecting others, collaborating effectively, taking personal and professional responsibility, and using language professionally. In the following sections, we will explore each of these behaviors separately.

BE APPROPRIATE

Avoid oversharing personal or family information with your coworkers or boss. Be careful what you say and post about work (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). A best practice is to avoid talking about any work-related issues with people outside of your closest family and friends, and even then, you should be cautious. Word can spread like wildfire and you wouldn’t want to lose your job over hearsay. Refrain from complaining about work and posting negative work-related content on social media. Despite your privacy settings, you can’t be sure that that information won’t get back to your employers or colleagues.

BE PRESENTABLE AND DRESS APPROPRIATELY

Always maintain a level of professionalism through your work attire, hygiene, and visual presentation (Piccirilli, 2018). Take note of the workplace dress code; until you have a better idea of what it is, take a conservative and simple approach to dress. Even if your workplace is more casual in nature, it is important to come to work clean, neat, and well-groomed. If you are representing yourself professionally, you are helping the employer to be seen in a professional light as well.

BE PUNCTUAL AND RESPECTFUL

Consistently showing up for work and showing up on time indicates that you’re serious about your job. It’s not only important to be punctual about arriving to work, but also to be on time for meetings and follow the prescribed times for breaks or other scheduled work gatherings. If you know you are going to be late, be courteous. Pick up the phone or send an email and let your employer know when you will be there (always offer to reschedule if that is more convenient for others). When you are able to meet your commitments, it tells an employer that they can depend on you.

CLARIFY EXPECTATIONS AND ASK FOR FEEDBACK

Sometimes an employer may not have the time or resources to review your job expectations with you in detail. To ensure you’re performing adequately at your new job, review your job duties very carefully, then identify your main responsibilities and how much time you should be spending on each. This is a fail-proof way to ensure you’re on target with what your employer expects, however, if you are unclear about what this looks like, don’t hesitate to clarify at any time. Along the same lines, if you want to make sure you’re on the right track, set up a time to meet with your manager and ask for feedback on your progress so far (Indeed Editorial Team, 2021).

BE HONEST AND OWN YOUR MISTAKES

It’s not the end of the world if you make a mistake on the job, it just makes you human. The worst thing to do is to lie about it. If you take responsibility for your mistake and avoid making excuses, it will show a great deal of maturity (Half, 2016). Employers will appreciate your honesty and your ability to handle a situation like this. If you show them you’re willing to learn the proper way to do something, to avoid this happening again in the future, you will be more likely to build a trusting relationship (Piccirilli, 2018).

FOLLOW THROUGH ON WHAT YOU SAY

Be a person of your word, if you can be relied on to do what you say you’re going to do, an employer is eventually going to see you as their go-to person (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). When your words match your behaviors, it makes it easier for an employer to trust you and they will ultimately be more likely to recommend, praise, and invest in you. On the contrary, not actively following through on what you say can paint a negative picture of you to an employer; they may assume you are undependable or even uninterested in the job.

DEMONSTRATE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE

You may have experienced working with someone negative in the past, which is why it’s so important for employers to want their employees to exhibit positivity. If you have a bad attitude this may impact how well you do your job or how you communicate with other people. People tend to remember the bad things; you certainly don’t want your employer to remember you as the complainer. Positivity is a highly sought-after quality on the job, as it tends to be a morale booster and increase the enjoyment of a work environment significantly.

KNOW AND UNDERSTAND YOUR ROLE AND YOUR SCOPE OF PRACTICE AND ASK FOR HELP WHEN NEEDED

Many of us make the mistake of wanting to prove we can do something on our own, or sometimes we’re just scared to ask for help because we think it might be seen unfavorably by our managers (Mind Tools Content Team, n.d.). The opposite of this is true; employers want you to ask questions and ask for help when you’re unsure of how to do something. Employers would rather you ask the questions you need in order to do the job correctly than potentially cost them time and money on careless, easily preventable mistakes. That being said, if you have a number of questions, collect them and schedule a time to meet with your manager to discuss them all at once – this will eliminate multiple interruptions.

BE A PROBLEM SOLVER AND A PEACEMAKER

Regardless of the job, we can’t escape day-to-day problems, whether they are personality differences between colleagues or roadblocks in our daily tasks or projects. What’s important for an employer to see is how you’re able to handle it when the situation is appropriate. An employer is seeking those that can manage conflict through effective negotiation and communication skills in a diplomatic, respectful, and calm manner. Furthermore, when you are able to manage unforeseen problems by identifying a plan and proposing possible solutions, you are taking this off the employer’s plate and allowing them to spend their time managing more pertinent concerns (Half, 2016). When an employer has to frequently intervene in these situations it can take away from how competently they view you in your role.

BE SELF-AWARE

Be honest with yourself (and others!) about your strengths and your challenges. Realize that you are not perfect and that every person needs to grow and learn continually throughout their careers. Self-evaluate regularly and set specific goals for yourself that are both measurable and achievable. When you experience conflict or misunderstandings, ask yourself what you could have done differently. When you receive constructive criticism, consider ways in which you can improve.

STAY CALM IN STRESSFUL SITUATIONS AND MANAGE DISAPPOINTMENT

Emotional intelligence is a highly-valued trait, both in the career world and in everyday life. Resilience is closely related to emotional intelligence. In the video below, The Mind Tools Content Team (n.d.) explains that two vital components of emotional intelligence are becoming more self-aware to understand your own emotions and using active listening skills to learn empathy.

ADAPT TO CHANGE

With changes happening all around us, you’re bound to experience a number of work-related changes in your time. Being flexible and open-minded to those changes will help to reduce the amount of stress you are experiencing and allow you to navigate unexpected changes in your work environment in a more positive and constructive way. Work changes can take their toll on morale, when employees are more adaptable, they will help set the tone for a more seamless transition across the team.

BE SELF-MOTIVATED

Just like many workplaces, health and wellness workplaces are busy and employers value employees who can work with little-to-no supervision. This type of person sees what needs to be done and does it. They never sit idle and find ways to keep themselves busy by helping their colleagues or catching up on work that was left undone.

BE ORGANIZED

Organization skills are important in every aspect of life and are absolutely essential to the workplace. Being organized decreases stress, saves time, and increases productivity. Piccirilli (2018) suggests keeping a tidy workspace and using a planner. Read this article to help you improve your organizational skills.

INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION

INTERPROFESSIONAL COLLABORATIVE SKILLS

A critical skill for healthcare professionals is the ability to work efficiently and effectively with other healthcare workers. For example, a person working in patient care may need to interact with their core team, contingency teams, ancillary and support services, administration, and the patient. A team consists of two or more individuals who interact dynamically, interdependently, and adaptively toward a common and valued goal, have specific roles or functions, and have a time-limited membership. Teams within healthcare must learn to communicate, coordinate, and effectively think and feel as a team by enacting necessary teamwork processes.

Teamwork processes can be defined as interrelated knowledge, skills, and attitudes that allow teams to work together to accomplish interdependent goals, such as problem-solving or providing optimal care to a patient. A team with the proper teamwork structure can anticipate the needs of other team members, dynamically adjust to a changing environment (including changing behaviors of team members), and have a shared understanding of what should happen.

• Knowledge: Teams whose members have strong communication, leadership, situation monitoring, and mutual support capabilities yield important team outcomes such as shared awareness about what is going on with the team and progress toward its goal. Team members will also be familiar with the roles and responsibilities of their teammates.
• Attitudes: When you work in teams in which the members have good communication, leadership, situation monitoring, and mutual support skills, team members are more likely to have a positive experience; you will enjoy working in teams and trust the intentions of your teammates.
• Performance: You’ll be able to adapt to changes in the care plan. Team members will know when and how to back up each other. You’ll be more efficient in providing care; you will have a plan, and you will know who is supposed to do what, and how they are supposed to do it. Finally, your team will be safer, allowing the team to more readily identify and correct errors if they occur.

The knowledge, skills, and attitudes of teamwork complement clinical excellence and improve patient outcomes, because teams use feedback cycles and clearly defined tools to communicate, plan, and deliver better quality care.

All healthcare students must prepare to deliberately work together in clinical practice with a common goal of building a safer, more effective, patient-centered healthcare system. The World Health Organization (WHO) (2010) defines interprofessional collaborative practice as multiple health workers from different professional backgrounds working together with patients, families, caregivers, and communities to deliver the highest quality of care.

Effective teamwork and communication have been proven to reduce medical errors, promote a safety culture, and improve patient outcomes (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality [AHRQ], 2015). The importance of effective interprofessional collaboration has become even more important as healthcare professionals advocate to reduce health disparities related to social determinants of health (SDOH). In these efforts, healthcare professionals work with people from a variety of professions, such as physicians, social workers, educators, policymakers, attorneys, faith leaders, government employees, community advocates, and community members. Healthcare students must be prepared to effectively collaborate interprofessionally after graduation (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2021).

The Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) has identified four core competencies for effective interprofessional collaborative practice. This section will review content related to these four core competencies and provide examples of how they relate to different health professions.

IPEC CORE COMPETENCIES

The Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) established standard core competencies for effective interprofessional collaborative practice. The competencies guide the education of future health professionals with the necessary knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes to collaboratively work together in providing client care. See Table 6.1 for a description of the four IPEC core competencies. Each of these competencies will be further discussed in the following sub-sections of this chapter.

Values and Ethics for Interprofessional Practice

The first IPEC competency is related to values and ethics and states, “Work with individuals of other professions to maintain a climate of mutual respect and shared values” (Interprofessional Education Collaborative, 2016). See the table below for the components related to this competency.

Nursing, medical, and other health professional programs typically educate students in “silos” with few opportunities to collaboratively work together in the classroom or in clinical settings. However, after being hired for their first job, these graduates are thrown into complex clinical situations and expected to function as part of the team.

One of the first steps in learning how to function as part of an effective interprofessional team is to value each healthcare professional’s contribution to quality, patient-centered care. Mutual respect and trust are foundational to effective interprofessional working relationships for collaborative care delivery across the health professions. Collaborative care also honors the diversity reflected in the individual expertise each profession brings to care delivery (Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel, 2011)

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

The second IPEC competency relates to the roles and responsibilities of healthcare professionals and states, “Use the knowledge of one’s own role and those of other professions to appropriately assess and address the healthcare needs of patients and to promote and advance the health of populations” (Interprofessional Education Collaborative, 2016).

See the following box for the components of this competency. It is important to understand the roles and responsibilities of the other healthcare team members, and to recognize one’s limitations in skills, knowledge, and abilities. One should also ask for assistance when needed to provide quality, patient-centered care.

Healthcare professionals communicate with several individuals during a typical shift. For example, during inpatient care, nurses may communicate with the following: patients and their family members; pharmacists and pharmacy technicians; providers from different specialties; physical, speech, and occupational therapists; dietary aides; respiratory therapists; chaplains; social workers; case managers; nursing supervisors, charge nurses, and other staff nurses; assistive personnel; nursing students; nursing instructors; security guards; laboratory personnel; radiology and ultrasound technicians; and surgical team members.

Providing holistic, quality, safe, and effective care means every team member taking care of patients must work collaboratively and understand the knowledge, skills, and scope of practice of the other team members.  To fully understand the roles and responsibilities of the multiple members of the complex healthcare delivery system, it is beneficial to spend time shadowing those within these roles.

The coordination and delivery of safe, quality patient care demand reliable teamwork and collaboration across organizational and community boundaries. Patients often have multiple visits across multiple providers working in different organizations. Communication failures between healthcare settings, departments, and team members are the leading cause of patient harm (Rosen et al., 2018). Our healthcare system is becoming increasingly complex requiring collaboration among diverse healthcare team members.

The goal of good interprofessional collaboration is improved patient outcomes, as well as increased job satisfaction of healthcare team professionals. Patients receiving care with poor teamwork are almost five times as likely to experience complications or death. Hospitals in which staff report higher levels of teamwork have lower rates of workplace injuries and illness, fewer incidents of workplace harassment and violence, and lower turnover (Rosen et al., 2018). Valuing and understanding the roles of team members are important steps toward establishing good interprofessional teamwork. Another step is learning how to effectively communicate with interprofessional team members.

INTERPROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION

The third IPEC competency focuses on interprofessional communication and states, “Communicate with patients, families, communities, and professionals in health and other fields in a responsive and responsible manner that supports a team approach to the promotion and maintenance of health and the prevention and treatment of disease” (Interprofessional Education Collaborative, 2016). This competency also aligns with The Joint Commission’s (2023) National Patient Safety Goal for improving staff communication. See the following box for the components associated with the Interprofessional Communication competency.

Transmission of information among members of the healthcare team and facilities is ongoing and critical to quality care. However, information that is delayed, inefficient, or inadequate creates barriers to providing quality care. Communication barriers continue to exist in healthcare environments due to interprofessional team members’ lack of experience when interacting with other disciplines. For instance, many novice nurses enter the workforce without experiencing communication with other members of the healthcare team (e.g., providers, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, social workers, surgical staff, dieticians, physical therapists, et cetera). Additionally, healthcare professionals tend to develop a professional identity based on their educational program with a distinction made between groups. This distinction can cause tension between professional groups due to diverse training and perspectives on providing quality patient care. In addition, a healthcare organization’s environment may not be conducive to effectively sharing information with multiple staff members across multiple units. In addition to potential educational, psychological, and organizational barriers to sharing information, there can also be general barriers that impact interprofessional communication and collaboration. See the following box for a list of these general barriers.

Since teams and teamwork is a culmination of all that you have learned by reviewing the first three IPEC competencies, this book is dedicating an entire section to this topic next.

TEAMS AND TEAMWORK

Now that we have reviewed the first three IPEC competencies related to valuing team members, understanding team members’ roles and responsibilities, and using structured interprofessional communication strategies, let’s discuss strategies that promote effective teamwork. The fourth IPEC competency states, “Apply relationship-building values and the principles of team dynamics to perform effectively in different team roles to plan, deliver, and evaluate patient/population-centered care and population health programs and policies that are safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable” (Interprofessional Education Collaborative, 2016). See the following box for the components of this IPEC competency.

Developing effective teams is critical for providing healthcare that is patient-centered, safe, timely, effective, efficient, and equitable (Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel, 2011). Healthcare professionals collaborate with the interprofessional team by not only assigning and coordinating tasks but also by promoting solid teamwork in a positive environment. A healthcare leader, such as a charge nurse, identifies gaps in workflow, recognizes when task overload is occurring, and promotes the adaptability of the team to respond to evolving patient conditions. The qualities of a successful team are described in the following box.

REFERENCES AND ATTRIBUTIONS

Introduction

“Interpersonal Relationships at Work” in Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships by Jason S. Wrench, Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, and Katherine S. Thweatt. Published by Milne Library Publishing under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

U.S. Department of Labor (n.d.). Professionalism. https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/odep/topics/youth/softskills/professionalism.pdf

Developing Professionalism

“Interpersonal Relationships at Work” in Interpersonal Communication- A Mindful Approach to Relationships by Jason S. Wrench, Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, and Katherine S. Thweatt. Published by Milne Library Publishing under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

“Professionalism” in Career Guide for Health and Wellness Office Administrative Professionals by Ellen Dilgert. Published by eCampusOntario under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Lightly edited for brevity and to change to American spelling conventions.

Half, R. (2016, March 4). 30 character traits of mentally strong people. https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/30-character-traits-of-mentally-strong-people

Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, July 20). 17 performance review tips for employees. Indeed. https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/performance-review-tips-for-employees

Mind Tools Content Team. (n.d.). Professionalism meeting the standards that matter. Mind Tools. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/professionalism.htm

Piccirilli, G. (2018, January 2). Knowledge center: 10 characteristics of professionalism in the workplace. AAPC. https://www.aapc.com/blog/40477-10-characteristics-of-professionalism-in-the-workplace/

“Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace” [YouTube video] by MindToolsVideos. All rights reserved.

Interprofessional Collaboration

Interprofessional Collaborative Skills

“Module 1. Introduction” and “Module 2: Evidence-Base: Team Structure” from TeamSTEPPS® Fundamentals Course developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Published under public domain for noncommercial use. Lightly edited for brevity, clarity, and flow. For more information, visit www.ahrq.gov/teamstepps.

“Collaboration Within the Interprofessional Team Introduction” in Nursing Management and Professional Concepts by Chippewa Valley Technical College. Published by the Wisconsin Technical College System under a CC BY 4.0 license.. (2015, July). TeamSTEPPS: National implementation research/evidence base. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.ahrq.gov/teamstepps/evidence-base/safety-culture-improvement.html

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2021). The future of nursing 2020-2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25982

World Health Organization. (2010). Framework for action on interprofessional education & collaborative practice. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/framework-for-action-on-interprofessional-education-collaborative-practice

IPEC Core Competencies

“IPEC Core Competencies” in Nursing Management and Professional Concepts by Chippewa Valley Technical College. Published by the Wisconsin Technical College System under a CC BY 4.0 license. Lightly edited for consistency with its new context.

Interprofessional Education Collaborative. (2016). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: 2016 update. https://ipec.memberclicks.net/assets/2016-Update.pdf

Values and Ethics for Interprofessional Practice

“Values and Ethics for Interprofessional Practice” in Nursing Management and Professional Concepts by Chippewa Valley Technical College. Published by the Wisconsin Technical College System under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Interprofessional Education Collaborative. (2016). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: 2016 update. https://ipec.memberclicks.net/assets/2016-Update.pdf

Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel. (2011). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Report of an expert panel. https://ipec.memberclicks.net/assets/2011-Original.pdf

“How does interprofessional collaboration impact care? The patient’s perspective (2/7)” [YouTube video] by Darío García Rodríguez. Published under a CC BY 3.0 license.

Roles and Responsibilities of Healthcare Professionals

“Roles and Responsibilities of Healthcare Professionals” in Nursing Management and Professional Concepts by Chippewa Valley Technical College. Published by the Wisconsin Technical College System under a CC BY 4.0 license. Lightly edited for consistency with its new context.

Interprofessional Education Collaborative. (2016). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: 2016 update. https://ipec.memberclicks.net/assets/2016-Update.pdf

Rosen, M. A., DiazGranados, D., Dietz, A. S., Benishek, L. E., Thompson, D., Pronovost, P. J., & Weaver, S. J. (2018). Teamwork in healthcare: Key discoveries enabling safer, high-quality care. The American Psychologist, 73(4), 433-450. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000298

Healthcare Team Roles

Behavior Analysts description provided by Sarah Kent.

“29-1223.00 – Psychiatrists” by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Published under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Occupation descriptions from the Occupational Outlook Handbook except where noted. Published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor under a public domain license. Lightly edited for brevity and flow.

Interprofessional Communication 

“Interprofessional Communication” in Nursing Management and Professional Concepts by Chippewa Valley Technical College. Published by the Wisconsin Technical College System under a CC BY 4.0 license.

Interprofessional Education Collaborative. (2016). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: 2016 update. https://ipec.memberclicks.net/assets/2016-Update.pdf

The Joint Commission. 2023). 2023 Hospital national patient safety goals. https://www.jointcommission.org/-/media/tjc/documents/standards/national-patient-safety-goals/2023/hap-npsg-simplified-2023-july.pdf

O’Daniel, M., & Rosenstein, A. H. (2011). Professional communication and team collaboration. In: Hughes R.G. (Ed.). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); Chapter 33. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2637

Teams and Teamwork

Interprofessional Education Collaborative. (2016). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: 2016 update. https://ipec.memberclicks.net/assets/2016-Update.pdf

Interprofessional Education Collaborative Expert Panel. (2011). Core competencies for interprofessional collaborative practice: Report of an expert panel. https://ipec.memberclicks.net/assets/2011-Original.pdf

O’Daniel, M., & Rosenstein, A. H. (2011). Professional communication and team collaboration. In: Hughes R.G. (Ed.). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); Chapter 33. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2637