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At the present time when interprofessional collaboration in practice is reaching new levels of interest related to health care system changes in both the UK and the US, a key question being raised is: What are the outcomes and costs of interprofessional collaborative models of care?

The current research knowledge base for end-of-life decision making in adult intensive care units is reviewed. Proposals for future research needs and for practice are described.

Please note: The full text of this article is only available to those with subscription access to the journal Nursing Outlook. Contact your institutional library or the publisher for details.

The authors describe the development and psychometric testing across three study phases of an Attitudes Toward Health Care Teams Scale. The measure contains two subscales: Quality of Care/Process (14 items) and Physician Centrality (6 items). The Quality of Care/Process subscale measures team members' perceptions of the quality of care delivered by health care teams and the quality of teamwork to accomplish this. The Physician Centrality subscale measures team members' attitudes toward physicians' authority in teams and their control over information about patients.

This article provides an overview of major interprofessional health care, education and research initiatives in the USA in the past fifty years, beginning with a short introduction that places the discussion into a conceptual and historical perspective and ending with some considerations for the future of interprofessional care in the USA.

The team approach to geriatric care does not automatically result in appropriate decision making with regard to elderly patients with multiple chronic problems and complicated, overlapping needs. In this article, Janis's (1972, 1982) group‐think theory and tests of facets of the theory are examined. A modified theory is then applied to geriatric health care teams using a case scenario. Suggestions for minimizing the conditions that lead to groupthink and the resultant poor decisions are made.

Interaction during four to seven meetings of four interdisciplinary health care teams was videotaped and coded for amount of interaction initiated and received by doctor, nurses, and nutritionists in each team. Process categories such as “asks opinion,” “gives information,” and “gives order,” were also coded for each participant in each meeting. A model of collegial interaction was developed, and the teams were compared with the model.

Anderson ES, Thorpe, LN. (2014). Students improve patient care and prepare for professional practice: an  interprofessional community-based study. Medical Teacher. 36(6): 495–504.

Background: We report on an education model, which enables students to contribute to practice while experiencing the realities of complex team-working in the community.

Aims: The study considers how interprofessional learning impacts on patient care and service delivery.

Background: A four-year action research study was conducted across the Australian Capital Territory health system to strengthen interprofessional collaboration (IPC) though multiple intervention activities.

Background: This pilot study evaluated the efficacy of the Interprofessional Team Reasoning Framework (IPTRF) to facilitate teaching and learning case studies with health professions students.

Background: Health professions education programs use simulation for teaching and maintaining clinical procedural skills. Simulated learning activities are also becoming useful methods of instruction for interprofessional education. The simulation environment for interprofessional training allows participants to explore collaborative ways of improving communicative aspects of clinical care.