Running Head: IPE AND IPC PART 2 1

Interprofessional Education and Interprofessional Collaboration Part 2

Trisha Belen

Jisha John

Lysis Placides

Prof. Stacey McPhail

BHSW 3501

April 13th, 2021

Health and Wellness Program

Holland Bloorview Kid’s Rehabilitation Hospital has employed various initiatives to

focus on the physical and mental wellness of their employees through their workplace well-being

program (Holland Bloorview, 2021). Their vision is to recognize and support the overall well-

being of their employees, students, and volunteers (Holland Bloorview, n.d.). One of their

initiatives focuses on stress management. High levels of stress can impact one’s ability to

concentrate, make decisions, and affect overall confidence (CCOHS, 2021). Thus, their programs

offer equipping employees with coping strategies for stress, providing environmental supports

such as a staff gym, pool, fitness classes, creating policies to accommodate workplace stress, and

use external resources such as Morneau Shepell offering employee assistance program (EAP)

(Holland Bloorview, n.d.). As Humber students in our health and wellness internship placement,

we have been asked to take on a leadership role to update and revise the stress management

program of the company to enhance its effectiveness. Revising the program would involve

working with a team of business and healthcare professionals who are experts in creating and

benchmarking the program to current best practices. With the varying educational backgrounds,

skills, and knowledge of employees, interprofessional collaboration is important to consider

when revising the quality for improvement of the program. Therefore, this report will outline the

role of each project members and their required competencies to lead the program using theories,

models, and frameworks of interprofessional collaborative practice.

Health Care Team Members

Psychotherapists – They are responsible for helping employees who are experiencing emotional

and psychological stress. They help by understanding an individual’s problem and help them

make appropriate changes in their life. They have been with the company for two years but have
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over ten years of experience within their field. They are part of the team to offer coping

strategies to help stressed employees using verbal interaction and active listening.

Occupational Health Nurse – They are responsible for providing medical care whether it be

physical or mental illnesses. They monitor and administer medication, document, and work

collaboratively with other healthcare staff. They have ten years of experience and have been with

the company for five years. They are part of the team to be the first point of contact for

employees offering professional knowledge on how to cater to their health.

Massage Therapists: They are responsible for administering professional massage and body

treatment to promote relaxation and stress reduction. They are part of the team as they are

knowledgeable in providing excellent communication and offer hands-on professional treatment

for employee’s stress. They have over six years of experience in the field and have been

employed for three years with the company.

Recreational Therapists: They are responsible for planning and facilitating recreation, leisure,

and play as treatment methods to reduce stress. They offer support to guide employee’s values

and purpose. They have just been hired in the company with over one year of experience in the

field. They are an asset to the project team as they play a role in advocating emotional wellbeing.

Business Team Members

Health and Wellness Coordinator – They are responsible for the development and maintenance

of wellness programs. They have been employed at Bloorview for ten years. They are part of the

project team due to their experience in working with various team members and leading a large

group of people. We will work alongside the coordinator as interns in leading the program’s

revision.
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Human Resource Manager – They are responsible for helping implement wellness programs,

offer flexible work arrangements, and review policies. They are part of the project team to

manage the organizational culture and legal deliverables of the program. They have been

employed with the company for over twelve years.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) – They are responsible for overseeing the company’s operations.

Their role in the project is to ensure the program runs efficiently and timely. They have been

with Bloorview for fifteen years with twenty years of experience. Their past job experiences

involved introducing company initiatives and organizing the company’s budget.

Accountant – They are responsible for keeping track of the company’s budget and financial

status. They prepare balance sheets, profits, and loss statements. They are part of the team to

ensure the program has enough profits for it to run. They have five years of experience with the

company and have previously been employed at a bank for two years.

CIHC Competency Domains

When considering interprofessional collaboration amongst the team members, it is

important to consider the Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative (CIHC) competency

framework. The framework helps to engage individuals in interprofessional education (IPE) and

interprofessional collaboration (IPC) to strengthen the health care team and enhance

patient/client care outcomes (CIHC, 2010). The CIHC identifies six competency domains that

are crucial for effective interprofessional collaboration to occur. Although all competency

domains are important, out of the six domains we believe interprofessional communication and

interprofessional conflict resolution are pertinent to the program. Interprofessional

communication between team members of varying professions is important as they must

collaborate and respect each other’s professional opinions and contributions (CIHC, 2010, p.16).

For the program, effective interprofessional communication helps to establish clear unified goals

of the team such as equipping employees with coping strategies for stress. Having a clear agenda

as a team ensures that all members communicate their comprehension of the decisions made

(CIHC, 2010, p.16). It allows all members to develop a trusting and respectful relationship with

one another.

Interprofessional conflict resolution is relevant to the program as team members will have

to constructively address disagreements that may arise when revising the program. We have

members of the team who may be traditional and like to keep things as they are or have other

members who encourage innovation. With the varying professional experiences amongst the

members, it is important to identify situations that may lead to conflicts in role ambiguity, power,

and differences in visions (CIHC, 2010, p.17). Thus, interprofessional conflict resolution is

pertinent when revising the program as understanding strategies on dealing with conflict will

help encourage collaborative practice.

CIHC Team Member Competencies

The CIHC competency domains as mentioned above are the most important when

revising the stress management program at Holland Bloorview. Team members must meet

specific skills, characteristics, and attitudes to exhibit interprofessional communication and

interprofessional conflict resolution. To meet the competency domain of interprofessional

communication, members must learn to articulate information that is understandable for all

disciplines. For instance, usage of medical acronyms should be eliminated for those whose

discipline is in business versus healthcare. Furthermore, effective communication requires team

members to actively listen to one another by giving them full positive attention and respond
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appropriately and respectfully to the contribution of other’s opinions. This will allow team

members to establish a safe and trusting environment for interprofessional communication. Also,

giving and receiving constructive feedback allows the acceptance of ideas or judgements to be

welcomed for the program’s success. Being open-minded is a skill that allows transparency when

communicating amongst team members. Without these skills, miscommunication can lead to

challenges for the program’s outcome.

To meet the interprofessional conflict resolution domain, members must stay positive and

have patience. They must act rationally and not let emotions control them. As much as possible,

it is preferable to try and resolve conflicts that result in compromises and not discriminating

against other members. Holding a positive attitude helps to break tension to provide a supportive

environment. Furthermore, patience allows members to think critically and evaluate all options

before creating a solution for a conflict. The difference in experience and educational

background should be appreciated as it allows insight into other member’s thought processes and

professional knowledge. Overall, the mentioned skills, attitudes, and competencies are essential

to effectively lead and revise the stress management program at Holland Bloorview.

Essential Components of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice

Ideally, the stress management wellness program needs the existence of all seven

essential components of collaboration. The most essential components for a collaborative

practice include coordination, cooperation, responsibility, and communication (Oandasan &

Reeves, 2005, p. 30,). Having a variety of professionals specializing in some of these

components is beneficial for collaborative practice. For example, the health and wellness

coordinator plays an essential part in facilitating and coordinating team members to brainstorm a

shared vision of the program. They help organize the team and assign individual tasks to meet
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the needs of the program. Cooperation is an essential component of collaborative practice as it

determines the success of working as a team and the overall program. Team members must go

through multiple stages in developing the program. Therefore, cooperation helps to set the stage

for the program’s outcome. Responsibility is also an essential component of collaborative

practice as creating, implementing, and assessing a wellness program requires all team members

to complete their roles responsibly and timely. Lastly, communication is crucial both from the

perspective of development and marketing of the program. For example, to promote the wellness

program the team members need to communicate efficiently and use different mediums such as

emails or team meetings. These listed components are essential in developing a professional

relationship with all team members during the revision project.

Anticipated Challenge

An anticipated challenge the organization may face is the team members’ experience

levels which can affect the professional relationship between the team. For example, the health

and wellness coordinator, human resource manager, and chief operating officer have more than

ten years of experience with the organization. Whereas other team members have experience in

the field but not in association with the hospital setting. The challenge with lack of experience

and the generational gap can reflect the teamwork. Those with over ten years of experience may

be able to lead other members better than others. Moreover, some leaders may lack the

educational skills to teach new employees about the process of developing the program. Thus,

the way we can address the problem is perhaps to provide leadership workshops to reflect on

different strategies to improve leadership skills and to further lead the team without any

discrimination. By addressing this challenge, future wellness programs can be led by junior staff

and enhance their leadership skills.

Team Members Leadership Competency Domains

Kouzes and Posner (2016) discuss five practices of exemplary leaders in the Leadership

Challenge. Ideally, all five practices should be present to revise the program. However, amongst

the five practices, “Enable Others to Act” is an important leadership competency as it discusses

the importance of creating trust and building relationships to help foster effective collaboration

and a positive working environment. For the revision project to occur for the program, these

components must be present amongst the team members as “trust is a cornerstone for creating a

workplace where employees are engaged, productive, and continually innovating” (Kouzes &

Posner, 2016, p. 198). Trust in each other’s capabilities will help build confidence, increase

motivation, and commitment to their roles. Additional research from Kouzes and Posner

indicated that trusted companies faired better among their competitors. Thus, to ensure the

success of the program’s revision, we aim to communicate with all members involved in the

project. If everyone were to contribute their opinions and expertise on the program, it helps clear

future misunderstandings from the group if everyone has the willingness to collaborate. Thus,

this evidence-based practice will reflect positively on the revised program.

Another important leadership competency is “Inspiring a Shared Visions”. According to

Kouzes and Posner (2016), leaders must have a vision before letting others refine it and make it

their own. There is an emphasis on visualization and using powerful language to catch the

attention of other members. For instance, the Health and Wellness Coordinator would play the

spokesperson for matching the organization’s vision with the vision of the wellness program. In

ideal conditions, team members can meet this leadership domain by learning to imagine

possibilities and finding a common purpose (Kouzes & Posner, 2016, p.97). Therefore, enlisting
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others to appeal to a shared vision of interest, values, and purpose will reflect on their motivation

to work together.

Team Goals and Personal Leadership Goals

The goal of the team is to improve the current stress management initiative at Holland

Bloorview Kid’s Rehabilitation Hospital. We are onboarding a variety of healthcare and business

professionals to assist us in accomplishing this goal. What we expect from the combination of

professionals is to revamp the current stress management initiative to sustain its effectiveness for

many years within a reasonable cost and notable return/outcome. Stress in the workplace can

extend beyond work and affect employee’s personal lives. We want to make sure that the

employees are provided with an outlet and resources to manage their stress effectively. Doing so

can improve their overall health, work productivity and outcome.

The goals of the leadership team are, to be honest, competent, inspiring, and forward

thinkers to provide the team with the leadership that can drive them towards success. We want to

be transparent and consistent with our team to build a rapport and foster a working environment

that can collaborate effectively and communicate openly with respect and trust. Furthermore, we

want to make sure that our actions reflect what we praise regarding work ethic. We want to lead

not only by giving instructions but also by contributing to the team with our knowledge and

capabilities. Lastly, we want to be supportive of every member of the team. We encourage team

members to be vocal about their ideas and/or suggestions on how to improve the program. Doing

so can open the table for many possible ideas to improve the program, motivate team members

as well as increase their confidence with the increased trust and responsibilities entrusted to

them.
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Lastly, as students taking on leadership roles with team members that are well established

in their careers, our goal for ourselves is to be confident in our capabilities and learn as much as

possible about the other professional disciplines through this experience. It can become

overwhelming to be surrounded by many professionals that are well educated and experienced. It

is important to remind ourselves that we are in the position to lead the team because we are

competent and capable. We need to exude this confidence to reassure the team members that

they can trust us to lead this program. Additionally, we are still students, to be in a position

where we can collaborate with different healthcare and business professionals, it is a great

opportunity to learn from the professionals themselves rather than reading about their job

description. We want to gain as much information as we can from these professionals so we

know how we can facilitate interprofessional collaboration effectively with all the team members

involved.
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References

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS). (2021). Workplace Stress -

General : OSH Answers. Retrieved 11 April 2021, from

https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/stress.html

Canadian Interprofessional Health Collaborative Competency Framework (CIHC). (2010). A

National Interprofessional Competency Framework. [PDF] University of British

Columbia, College of Health Disciplines. Retrieved 11 April 2021, from

http://ipcontherun.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/National-Framework.pdf

Holland Bloorview. (2021). Advantages of a Career at Holland Bloorview. Retrieved 11 April

2021, from https://hollandbloorview.ca/About-Us/working-with-us/advantages-career-

holland-bloorview

Holland Bloorview. (n.d.) Mental Health and Wellness Hub Employee and Student Wellness

[PDF] (pp. 1-11). Retrieved 11 April 2021 from

https://hollandbloorview.ca/sites/default/files/202003/HBConnect_MentalHealth_and_W

ellnessHub.pdf

Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2016). The leadership challenge (6th ed.). (pp. 193-244). Retrieved

from https://ebookcentral-proquest-

com.ezproxy.humber.ca/lib/humber/detail.action?docID=4836524

Oandasan, I. & Reeves, S. (May 2005). Key elements for interprofessional education. Part 1: The

learner, the educator and the learning context. Journal of Interprofessional Care,

Supplement 1, 21-38.