Working in a spirit of interprofessional practice: a hermeneutic phenomenological study

ABSTRACT

Interprofessional practice is recognized as essential to providing patient-centered, collaborative and high quality care, contributing to optimal health outcomes. Understandings of how best to cultivate practitioners able to ‘be’ and ‘become’ interprofessional remain problematic. To advance that understanding, this hermeneutic phenomenological study addressed the question: ‘What are health professionals’ experiences of working with people from other disciplines?’ In-depth, semi structured interviews with 12 health professionals from nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, medicine, social work, and midwifery were undertaken using a conversation style. Three unifying themes revealed things which appear to be at the ‘heart’ of interprofessional practice; the call to interprofessional practice, working in a spirit of interprofessional practice and safeguarding and preserving interprofessional practice. This paper focuses on the first two themes. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of interprofessional practice as a way of being that extends beyond known and measureable skills and knowledge, to dispositions and qualities. Dispositional qualities come from within a person and what they care about, and from experiences that shape their understandings. This study points toward interprofessional practice as being about a spirit. Who people are, what they bring and how they act is what matters.

KEYWORDS:

• Interprofessional practice
• interprofessional collaboration
• teamwork
• hermeneutic phenomenology
• heidegger
• gadamer

Disclosure Statement

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the writing and content of this article. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not represent the official views of the Auckland University of Technology.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brenda Flood

Dr Brenda Flood is a senior lecturer at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT), New Zealand where she is an interprofessional education and practice development leader within the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences. Brenda’s doctoral research explored health professionals’ experiences of interprofessional practice, with the aim of illuminating insights from these experiences to inform interprofessional learning.

Clare Hocking

Professor Clare Hocking works within the Department of Occupational Science and Therapy at the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand and is the Executive Editor of the Journal of Occupational Science. In addition to supervising a large number of doctoral students, Clare’s current research interests include occupational science and human rights, strategies people with a health condition devise to facilitate participation in everyday occupations, and the World Federation of Occupational Therapy minimum standards for the education of occupational therapists. Professor

Liz Smythe

Liz Smythe is the Programme Leader for the Doctor of Health Science programme at the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. This programme builds an interprofessional culture of learning. Liz brings expertise in Heideggerian hermeneutic phenomenology.

Marion Jones

Marion Jones is Professor of Interprofessional Learning and Dean of University Graduate Research School at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. At present involved in co-editing a fourth book on interprofessional leadership. The first book- “Leadership Development for Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice”- Forman, Jones and Thistlethwaite was published in 2014, the second volume 2015, 3rd 2016 and the 4th volume in progress for 2019.