eLearning, knowledge brokering, and nursing: strengthening collaborative practice in long-term care.

Interprofessional collaboration is vital to the delivery of quality care in long-term care settings; however, caregivers in long-term care face barriers to participating in training programs to improve collaborative practices. Consequently, eLearning can be used to create an environment that combines convenient, individual learning with collaborative experiential learning. Findings of this study revealed that learners enjoyed the flexibility of the Working Together learning resource. They acquired new knowledge and skills that they were able to use in their practice setting to achieve higher levels of collaborative practice. Nurses were identified as team leaders because of their pivotal role in the long-term care home and collaboration with all patient care providers. Nurses are ideal as knowledge brokers for the collaborative practice team. Quantitative findings showed no change in learner's attitudes regarding collaborative practice; however, interviews provided examples of positive changes experienced. Face-to-face collaboration was found to be a challenge, and changes to organizations, systems, and technology need to be made to facilitate this process. The Working Together learning resource is an important first step toward strengthening collaboration in long-term care, and the pilot implementation provides insights that further our understanding of both interprofessional collaboration and effective eLearning.

Integration of nurse practitioners into a family health network.

A randomized controlled study called Anticipatory and Preventative Team Care (APTCare) explored a new role for nurse practitioners (NPs) within a multidisciplinary team. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether integrating NPs and a pharmacist was an effective approach for the management of patients living with multiple chronic illnesses. Over an 18-month period, three part-time NPs and a pharmacist became part of a rural Family Health Network (FHN). They established relationships with study patients and collaborated to provide optimum care. Each NP had 40 patients, all of whom received care in the home. Study results showed that an initial home visit was invaluable for establishing a care plan, developing a relationship with the patient and assessing the home environment. Ongoing monitoring at home, however, was found to be an inefficient use of the NP role. By the end of the study, all clinicians agreed that the NP role had been successfully integrated into the multidisciplinary team.