Interprofessional collaboration in the clinical sessions of an intensive care unit: perception of nurses and doctors. A systematic review of the literature

Introduction

Intensive Care Units are dynamic and complex units that require several professionals to work together. This is achieved through Interprofessional Collaborative Practice, which is the process in which different professionals interact with common goals and objectives in decision making, providing safe and quality care. Joint clinical sessions provide professionals with the opportunity to interact, improving communication and outcomes in clinical practice.

Objectives

To explore nurses' and physicians' perceptions of collaborative practice in joint clinical sessions in an Intensive Care Unit.

Methodology

A systematic literature review was conducted in the databases Medline, Pubmed, Cinahl, Web of Science and Psycinfo, including articles published in the last ten years.

Results

The analysis of the publications detected five main categories: (1) Concept: definition of interprofessional collaboration according to nurses and doctors, (2) Impact on clinical practice: value given to clinical sessions by nurses and doctors, (3) Barriers: relevant aspects in clinical sessions according to the perception of nurses and doctors, (4) Role: role perceived by each professional and (5) Improvement strategies: proposals put forward by nursing and medical professionals.

Conclusions

Although doctors and nurses are aware of the importance and impact of Interprofessional Collaborative Practice in the care of the critically ill patient, it is not a common practice in care.