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Impact of Human Factors on Interprofessional Collaboration and Service User Safety

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Impact of Human Factors on Interprofessional Collaboration and Service User Safety

Part A

Explore how human factors may increase the impact of hierarchy on interprofessional
collaboration and service user safety.

Introduction

Interprofessional collaboration is a significant aspect of any healthcare institution

because, through interprofessional collaboration, patients are guaranteed that their diverse needs
will be met. Health and social care studies advocate for interprofessional collaboration by
encouraging healthcare professionals to work together to ensure that the outcome of healthcare
services is enhanced (Abdurrouf and Pandin, 2021). Interprofessional collaboration thus involves
individuals from various health professions with different skills and knowledge teaming up to
offer patient-centred care with the aim of improving and achieving optimum care. While
interprofessional collaboration focuses on enhancing care and patient outcomes, it is often
undermined by certain human factors like complacency and lack of teamwork that comprise the
twelve commonly quoted factors in Gordon’s Dirty Dozen (Nzelu, 2018). Complacency implies
a state of satisfaction with the status quo, often accompanied by a loss of awareness of potential
dangers. In contrast, lack of teamwork refers to the inability of individuals to work together,
operating towards similar goals and driven by a common objective (O’Connor, 2021). This essay
will focus on examining how each of the above human factors impacts the effects of the
hierarchy. In the body paragraph, a critical analysis of the lack of teamwork and complacency
will be offered and their impact on interprofessional collaboration and service safety. The
conclusion will then summarize the key findings of this discussion.

Critical discussion

This section will focus on discussing how lack of teamwork and complacency is likely to
impact interprofessional collaboration and patient safety and how each factor increases the
effects of hierarchy.

Complacency
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Complacency refers to a state of perceived self-satisfaction accompanied by unawareness

of the actual dangers and surrounding inadequacies. According to Busari, Moll and Duits (2017),
health and social science state that when a patient is injured or placed in hazardous surroundings,
healthcare practitioners should be informed of the situation to enable them to identify and subdue
danger the patient is involved in. Aaberg et al. (2021) support the above argument by illustrating
that when medical practitioners fail to do so, medical errors are likely to arise, indicating that the
medical personnel in charge of the situation was likely complacent (Busari, Moll and Duits,
2017). Complacency is likely to occur when an individual has amassed a lot of experience at
work or within a specific task, making them assume that the activities being carried out are
habitual. Nta (2022) elaborates that as a result, such an individual is likely to become
overconfident while performing their job because of feeling over-experienced, which in effect
makes them lose interest or become bored at work. The feeling of boredom and disinterest leads
to fatigue, which in turn makes one opt to pursue strategies that require effort, making them
ignore the patient’s safety and placing the patient at probable risk (Kwame and Petrucka, 2021).

Research indicates that when complacency occurs, an individual has the habit of either
letting themselves be governed by experience, using a shortcut to achieve a task, exhibiting
overconfidence and not following the outlined guidelines. According to Sheehan et al. (2022),
complacency leads to poor communication within the team because individuals are driven by the
will to act alone, make independent choices and not consult their colleagues when making
critical decisions that concern the patient. Making decisions in the above manner promotes poor
communication, which in turn results in members of the team being excluded from the decision-
making process, as Romijn et al. (2017) assert. This, in effect, results in low productivity and
unawareness of individual knowledge and skills that colleagues within the interprofessional team
possess, thereby resulting in cases of clinical errors and ignoring risks and dangers linked to
service user safety (Altmiller, 2014; Teresa-Morales et al., 2022). This negatively impacts
interprofessional collaboration.

Poor communication, which is a consequence of complacency, places service users at

increased risk, resulting from misinterpretation of information, neglect to detect status shifts and
inadequate information. Labrague et al. (2021) concur with the above assertion that complacency
undermines interprofessional collaboration and service user safety, and thus, measures aimed at
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improving interprofessional working need to be implemented. This argument is supported by

Aaberg (2022) study which asserts complacency affects the hierarchy process and thus
undermines the effectiveness of collaboration in healthcare. According to studies by Samuriwo
(2022) and Vatn and Dahl (2021), complacency promotes a rigid hierarchy within
interprofessional teams by making individuals reluctant to challenge the decisions and actions of
their superiors even if such decisions and actions are questionable or if their suggestions could
lead to improvements (Sheehan et al., 2022; Labrague et al., 2021). As a result, an environment
where open communication is discouraged is often created, stifling collaboration as team
members are unlikely to speak up or offer feedback and suggestions.

Van Staalduinen et al. (2023) discovered that complacency further erodes the
effectiveness of collaboration in interprofessional teams by undermining cooperation. Within
interprofessional teams, the likelihood of collaboration depends on the willingness and ability of
team members to engage in critical thinking, be actively involved and be willing to question
existing norms and practices. However, as a result of complacency, individuals develop a sense
of vigilance and reluctance to challenge the status quo, making them overlook probable risk,
dismiss valuable inputs and fail to identify likely errors, as Samuriwo (2022) elaborates. The
effectiveness of collaboration is then undermined as individuals ignore important information
and perspectives, undermining the likelihood of the team making informed decisions and
providing safe care to service users. In summary, complacency undermines the hierarchical
process and the effectiveness of interprofessional collaboration by promoting a culture of silence,
encouraging vigilance and reducing the likelihood of cooperation (Kwame and Petrucka, 2021).
This can be solved by developing a culture that encourages open communication and willingness
to challenge the status quo if complacency is to be eliminated.

Lack of Teamwork

Teamwork refers to the interaction between two or more individuals driven by a common
objective supported by leadership aimed at ensuring honest discussion and problem-solving.
Teamwork is essential in ensuring that patient safety is guaranteed as it reduces the adverse
impacts that are likely to result from complacency, miscommunication and misunderstanding
among healthcare providers (Mach, Abrantes and Soler, 2021; Tweedie et al., 2019). Quality and
good teamwork thus guarantee that professional satisfaction, engagement and productivity will
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increase, leading to increased and improved patient outcomes and satisfaction, as Stephens et al.
(2016) elaborate. Teamwork ensures that health professionals are insulated against pressures and
stress resulting from controlling bosses and long working hours. Furthermore, Vatn and Dahl
(2021) concur with the above argument by asserting that team power positively impacts
interprofessional collaboration and safety of service users in various ways, such as promoting
effective coordination, which reduces patients' stress levels, enhances their recovery process and
impacts general health outcomes (Tiwary et al., 2019). Effective coordination also ensures
elevated clinical performance, reduced health costs and increased efficiency that improves
patients’ general outcomes. Research indicates that teamwork enables health professionals to
effectively minimize inefficiencies, enhance peer relationships, minimize medical errors and
facilitate faster treatment, thereby enhancing the safety and satisfaction of service users (Carayon
et al., 2014; Weller and Civil, 2017).

Having discussed the benefits associated with teamwork in interprofessional

collaboration, the lack of teamwork, therefore, is detrimental and has negative impacts on
interprofessional collaboration and service users. Lack of teamwork undermines
interprofessional communication in that without teamwork; health providers are bound to work
independently, reducing the likelihood of critical information that facilitates treatment, recovery
and diagnosis from flowing (Greer et al., 2020). Patient safety is jeopardized when
communication between health practitioners collapses because caregiving entails specialized and
complex treatments that a single person may not carry out. According to Altmiller (2014),
medical practitioners who operate alone without teaming up or collaborating with others are also
likely to experience burnout and fatigue as they are forced to carry out several activities on their
own that they would have otherwise reduced if they engaged other practitioners. This may, in
effect, lead to medical errors, misdiagnosis and reduced health outcomes, as asserted by Brady et
al. (2017).

Lack of teamwork also undermines interprofessional collaboration as it leads to

redundancy in workflow owing to the lack of division of roles. Health providers operating
indecently are likely to conduct similar activities and duties repeatedly, something they would
have otherwise avoided if they collaborated with other medical practitioners, as elaborated by
Belbin (2010). Research indicates that a lack of teamwork also undermines the effectiveness of
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collaboration and the safety of service users by impacting the hierarchy process. According to
Donley (2021), lack of teamwork leads to the creation of communication barriers that undermine
the exchange of information between individuals within the hierarchical structures. Practitioners
in lower levels and hierarchies may feel hesitant to air out their opinions and concerns to their
counterparts in higher positions (Carayon, Xie and Kianfar, 2013). As a result, Carayon et al.
(2014) elaborate that the lack of communication may lead to a breakdown in sharing vital
information, thus undermining collaboration and jeopardizing the safety of service users.

Lack of teamwork is also likely to lead to power imbalance in that within the hierarchical
systems, practitioners at higher levels are likely to possess more power, thus influencing
important decisions affecting patients and other caregivers. Gardner (2015) elaborates that this
leads to a scenario where the efforts of other practitioners are overshadowed, and their
perspectives are not given consideration. The power imbalance, as supported by the Greer et al.
(2020) study, is likely to hinder collaboration between professionals as other individuals may
feel unappreciated and unheard, stifling innovation and preventing full utilization of the expertise
of other professionals. Lack of teamwork within the hierarchical systems is also likely to lead to
resistance to change because professionals may resist new approaches and ideas that they feel
challenge traditional practices or disrupt the status quo and established hierarchies (Stewart,
2018; Tweedie et al., 2019). Mach, Abrantes, and Soler's (2021) study supports this point by
adding that the resistance encountered will likely undermine innovation and creativity within
professional ranks, thus hindering effective collaboration and impeding the implementation of
evidence-based practices that would help improve service user safety (Zajac et al., 2021).

Conclusion

In summary, human factors have played a significant role in shaping how safe and
effective patient care is delivered. In this essay, the effects of complacency and lack of teamwork
have been critically examined, and their impact on interprofessional collaboration and service
user safety has been outlined. According to the study, complacency results from individuals
being negligent of their roles because of the illusion of having too much experience, failing to
follow protocols and using shortcuts to achieve tasks at work. As a result of complacency, poor
communication develops, increasing the risk of information misinterpretation and neglect of
patient status, thereby undermining health outcomes. Complacency further erodes the
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effectiveness of collaboration in interprofessional teams by undermining cooperation. Teamwork

helps in promoting improved clinical performance, increased efficiency and improved patient
outcomes. The lack of teamwork, however, undermines interprofessional collaboration because it
promotes individualism at work, which reduces the flow of critical information. Lack of
teamwork also leads to a lack of division of roles, which makes the workplace redundant, thus
undermining interprofessional collaboration. The hierarchical structure that characterizes clinical
and healthcare setting is likely to be undermined by complacency and lack of teamwork as these
factors undermine the likelihood of cooperation, promotes resistance to change and creates
communication barriers. Effective measures that can be used to promote open communication,
enhance cooperation and encourage willingness to challenge the status quo should be devised if
complacency and lack of teamwork are to be eliminated.

Part B

Reflect on how your understanding of interprofessional collaboration will impact on your

future practice.

The Gibbs reflective cycle is a significant framework that can be used in analysis and
reflection to examine experiences and insights that one has gained, helping them enhance their
future practice (Markkanen et al., 2020). In this exercise, I will employ Gibbs's reflective model
to explore my comprehension of interprofessional collaboration's impact on my future practice as
a healthcare practitioner.

Description

During my studies and practical experiences, I have acquired tremendous knowledge and
comprehension of interprofessional collaboration and how it is important in the healthcare field. I
have discovered the importance of aspects like coordinated actions, shared decision making and
working in teams and how these aspects influence professionals in different fields. I have learned
that while professionals are efficient at work, a lack of teamwork and complacency may
undermine their practice. Thus, I strive to ensure I apply collaborative efforts and invoke
cooperation in my future practice. Using simulations and team-based projects has enabled me to
witness how positive outcomes can be attained if healthcare professionals collaborate, leading to
improved patient outcomes.
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Feelings

Looking back on my learning experiences, I feel a sense of accomplishment and

excitement regarding the likely impact I will make in ensuring interprofessional collaboration at
my future workplace is achieved. Since I have learned that it is important to foster a
collaborative environment, I will ensure that such an environment is achieved in my future
practice, thus guaranteeing mutual respect and collaboration among professionals. Furthermore,
reflecting has made me aware of the likely challenges, such as conflicting viewpoints and poor
communication, which can be solved, but professionals need to be empathetic, patient and
willing to cooperate.

Evaluation

After undertaking a serious evaluation, I am sure that my understanding of

interprofessional collaboration will play a significant role in impacting my future practice. By
understanding how teamwork positively impacts service-user outcomes and safety, I will ensure
that I actively promote and advocate for interprofessional collaboration in my role as a
professional. Furthermore, understanding the role of teamwork in interprofessional collaboration
will ensure that I encourage my colleagues to continuously commit themselves to creating a
collaborative and cooperative work environment where collaboration is possible.

Analysis

A deep analysis of my comprehension of interprofessional collaboration made me realize

that interprofessional collaboration will be impactful in how I undertake decision-making and
problem-solving activities in my future practice. To ensure effective decision-making and
problem-solving, I will constantly collaborate with professionals from various disciplines to
enable me to get insights from different individuals and diverse perspectives that will guarantee
my decision-making process is not biased. Furthermore, I will ensure that I advocate for open
and respectful communication to guarantee that information is shared effectively between
different team members, thereby facilitating shared decision-making and reducing the likelihood
of misunderstanding,

Conclusion
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I am certain that having properly understood interprofessional collaboration will help

positively impact my future practice because my understanding of this concept will inform my
approach to problem-solving, decision making and teamwork. Furthermore, I will ensure that I
strive to ensure my future practice is characterized by a collaborative work environment
governed by open communication and which prioritizes well-being and service-user safety.

Action Plan

In my future practice, I will attend communication workshops and training programs with
the aim of enhancing communication and ensuring I promote open communication at my
workplace. I also intend to build collaborative relationships by actively participating in team-
building activities and undertaking initiatives aimed at supporting collaboration and
strengthening relationships. Lastly, I plan on promoting service-user involvement by offering
education and support to service users with the aim of encouraging them to take charge of their
own care actively.
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