Essential VI

e-Portfolio Essential VI: Interprofessional communication and collaboration for

improving patient health outcomes
Laura Ellis
Frostburg State University

Essential VI

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing provides specific qualifications

for nurses seeking a bachelors level competency in nursing practice. The AACN has nine
essential requirements of a professional nurse including number six; Interprofessional
Communication and Collaboration for Improving Patient Health Outcomes. Essential IV
states that the baccalaureate prepared nurse is able to effectively communicate with other
healthcare team members, represent nurses in a professional manor, and provide unique
nursing prospective in team settings to facilitate the best patient outcomes (2008, pg. 2223). The RN to BSN program at Frostburg State University challenges students to
provide an exemplary work for each AACN Essential.
Exemplar
The selected exemplar represents understanding and integration of professional
communication in the role of bedside nursing. Effective communication is a vital part of
any position at the professional level; this paper demonstrates the importance of
leadership education in bedside nurses in order to effectively communicate with other
professionals. This exemplar is reflective of what the AACN states is a baccalaureate
prepared nurse.
Reflection
The Issue Analysis assignment for Frostburg State Universitys Nursing
Professionalism course provides the student an opportunity to demonstrate an area of
nursing that can be improved upon to provide the best possible patient care. As argued by
this exemplar, improving nursing education in leadership skills and approaches will better

Essential VI

allow the bedside nurses to facilitate evidence-based patient care in collaboration with
other healthcare professionals. According to the AACN, a baccalaureate prepared nurse
must be able to be an effective team member as a collaborator, decision maker, and
establish open communication patterns through leadership (2008, pg. 22). The link
between effective leadership abilities and appropriate communication skills are evidenced
in Attributes of Clinical Leadership in Contemporary Nursing: An Integrative Review and
The Nurse as Leader and Manager. Given the pivotal role that nurses play in patient
care, competency in both leadership and communication is essential to being a nursing
professional and thus essential to any nursing baccalaureate preparation.

Essential VI

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References:

American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2008). The Essentials of Baccalaureate

Education for Professional Nursing Practice. Washington, DC.
Blais, K., & Hayes, J. (2011). The Nurse as Leader and Manager. In Professional nursing
practice: Concepts and perspectives (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Mannix, J., Wilkes, L., & Daly, J. (2014). Attributes of clinical leadership in
contemporary nursing: An integrative review. Contemporary Nurse, 3505-3521.
Retrieved April 27, 2015, from
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.5172/conu.2013.45.1.10#