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ECLECTIC Study Resource Pack

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Professional Identity and Growth

Professional Identity and Growth

Focus Area 1: Professional Identity and Growth 

This section provides resources to help teams establish a strong shared identity, enhance awareness of their own professional roles and those of their team members, and strengthen interprofessional collaboration. Included are resources for:

  • Developing a Mission, Vision, and Values Statement 
  • Role Awareness 
  • Team Goal Setting
  • Psychological Safety 
  • Interprofessional Team Building

There is strong evidence that healthcare teams function more effectively when they have a clear and shared sense of purpose. Creating a mission, vision and values statement together as a team means that there is a collective sense of ownership of the team goals and accountability in how those goals are achieved. 

Activity 1

Complete the Co-Lead Module on Team Values, Vision, and Mission. This activity will assist in collectively establishing and agreeing on team values, vision, and mission for delivering integrated care. Estimated time to complete is one hour. 

Activity 2 

Co-design and document the team values, vision and mission in a document. Save this on an accessible and shared file and print off a hard copy to put up in the clinic space. Agree on a timeframe to revisit this.

Role awareness is essential for working well in interprofessional teams. Role descriptors enable team members to establish greater clarity for their role and the roles of other team members. Developing role descriptors together as an interprofessional team provides a valuable opportunity for different professions to describe their disciplinary and professional expertise and communicate roles and responsibilities. It also helps professionals to discuss their values and priorities and to convey the strengths that they bring to the team. This reflective communication enhances individual perception of roles, supports professional growth and increases understanding of roles within the team. 

Activity 1

Complete the Co-Lead module on Role Clarity to support successful interprofessional working. The estimated time to complete is one hour.

Creating Role Descriptors

The HSE Knowledge and Skills Framework for Healthcare Professionals Working with Older People (see link below), describes discipline-specific and shared knowledge and skills required by healthcare professionals providing care to older people. The framework supports individual healthcare professionals and interprofessional teams to identify professional development opportunities and it supports role awareness for interdisciplinary team working.

Activity 2 

Use the HSE Knowledge and Skills Framework to complete the downloadable role descriptor template. 

Complete the template for your own role first and then discuss your notes with your teammates and get feedback. This can be done informally in a one-to-one context or collectively as a team. Use the template and the team feedback to create a professional role descriptor for your role on the team. Once completed, upload professional role descriptors for each team member onto an accessible shared file.

Establishing shared goals as a team is known to support a collective ownership and commitment to implementing actions which help to achieve the goals. This also leads to more effective collaboration and coordination.  

Activity 1

Complete the Co-Lead Module on Team Goal Setting to align team goals. Which will result in the following key team outputs:

  • A set of agreed, measurable goals for the team to work towards 
  • Sub-groups to work towards these goals
  • An action plan

Estimated time to complete is one hour

Research shows that when team members feel psychologically safe, they are more engaged and motivated. Psychologically safe work environments involve team members feeling valued for their contributions and ensures they can speak up without fear or risk of retribution. A major feature of creating psychological safety is through building trust and acknowledging power dynamics. That is why this section provides resources to build trust and recognition of how power can influence people’s perceptions and experiences of being valued in a team. 

Activity 1

Complete the Co-Lead building trust module which facilitates team discussion around establishing mutual support and creating a culture of trust within the team.

Activity 2 

Complete the Co-Lead Emotional Support in Teams module which aims to increase understanding within the team of how to emotionally support one another, particularly after intense events. 

Download Co-Lead module – Emotional Support in Teams

Interprofessional teamwork brings together professionals who have diverse knowledge and skills, with distinct but equally valuable perspectives on care. Creating opportunities for discussion and dialogue among team members supports a shared understanding and awareness of one another’s perspectives. Activities which support team building and group learning, including serious games that prompt critical discussion and reflection, have proven effective in improving collaboration and integrating team perspectives on care.

Activity 1

Play the Promoting Assisted Decision-Making with Older People in Acute Care Settings (PADMACS) Educational Discussion Game. Instructions and links to the downloadable version are below.

What is PADMACS? 

PADMACS is an educational tool for furthering understanding of assisted decision making for health and social care professionals working in acute care settings. It consists of story cards based on real stories from HSCPs, older people and family carers, issue cards based on meaningful issues identified by research and information cards based on the 2015 ADM Capacity Act (ADMCA). This serious game is specifically designed to facilitate discussion about the nuances and complexities of assisted decision-making with older people and to educate professionals about the ADMCA. 

Downloading PADMACS

If you wish to download the free PADMACS serious game, you have the choice between downloading the longer version of the serious game (it includes ALL story cards and is approximately 1.5 hours in duration ) or a shorter version (selected themes which take approximately 40 minutes in duration).

  • Download Longer Version of the Serious Game Here
  • Download Facilitator Guide for Longer Version of the Serious Game Here
  • Download Facilitator Guide for Shorter Version of the Serious Game Here

Download a Shorter Version of the Serious Game by Theme

Activity 2: Play the CLARITY Game - Collaborative Learning to enhance Awareness of Roles in Interprofessional Teams supporting older people in the communitY

The ECLECTIC Team, in collaboration with ICPOP team members, older people/carers, policymakers, and researchers developed a serious game to support ICPOP team members to discuss and understand their professional roles and those of others. This interactive game focuses on:

  • Role awareness, role clarity and role evolution in interprofessional teams. 
  • Building skills in listening, reflecting and communicating roles and responsibilities, scope of practice and boundaries. 
  • Dialogue and reflection as tools for collaboration. 

A facilitators guide was designed to help confidently plan and run a PlayDecide CLARITY game session with interprofessional teams.

The guide provides step-by-step instructions, suggested scripts, and practical prompts to guide participants through a structured conversation about roles, scope of practice, boundaries, and interprofessional collaboration. You don’t need to be a content expert to facilitate a session. Any team member can be nominated to facilitate the game. The role of facilitation is to support open dialogue, equal participation, and reflection, helping the group make visible the often unseen dynamics of teamwork and role evolution.

Game Materials 

If you wish to download the free CLARITY serious game, you can download the game materials below. 

Information Sharing

Information Sharing and Care Coordination Coordination Across Boundaries

Interprofessional community teams who deliver specialist care to older people need to be able to share information effectively within their team and with the broader intersectoral care system. 

Across Ireland, ICPOP teams utilise different information systems and have varying access to electronic data sharing systems and standardised templates. This section aims to provide information on the different approaches used by teams and resources which may be useful for teams to utilise in visualising their workflows and care coordination processes. 

Included is information relating to: 

  • ICT Infrastructure
  • Care Coordination Workflow 
  • Tracker 
  • Patient Journey Mapping
  • Triage Models and Processes

Interprofessional collaboration for older person care is complex and requires multiple collaborations across care sectors within primary, community and hospital contexts. Systems which support communication can improve workflow and improve teamwork and care coordination, which results in the delivery of timely and responsive care for older people in the community. 

Recommendations

  • For teams that do not have a dedicated file management and information sharing system, consider using the InterRAI system as an information management system where all documents related to the older person can be uploaded and accessed by the team. 
  • The ECLECTIC team will assess the changes and the impact of using InterRAI as a file management system during the next wave of data collection in summer 2025. 
  • Please liaise with the UCD ECLECTIC team if you are interested in hearing from a team already using InterRAI as a file management system, and we can put you in touch with them to learn from their experience.

Mapping the care pathway, focusing on information flow and case management processes enables understanding of the roles and responsibilities within an interprofessional team and enhances continuity for a patient’s care journey. This section provides a care coordination workflow tracker created by the ECLECTIC team to support ICPOP teams in mapping case management processes from referral to discharge, with clear roles and responsibilities outlined.

Activity 1: 

Complete the care coordination workflow tracker prepared by the ECLECTIC team. The sheet is divided into sections illustrating the care pathway of the older person, including referral, communication, information gathering, triage, decision-making. When populating the tracker, review the roles and responsibilities for each activity.  

Activity 1.2

Using the completed care coordination workflow tracker template, complete the Co-Lead Module on Removing Frustrations/ Blockers to collectively reflect on your operational processes and identify areas that could be improved, as well as the barriers and enablers of improvement. The estimated time to complete is one hour.

Output: Once these activities are completed, you will have a map of your team’s case management pathway, which can be transformed into a visual flow chart and stored on an accessible shared file.

The triage process is different across ICPOP teams. Some teams use a consultant-led model, whereas others use a team-led/ hybrid model where one or two team members are assigned to triage each day (or every two days). When a new referral comes in, the assigned team member reviews the referral letter, checks for any missing information (and follows up as needed), and decides whether to accept or reject the referral. The team then discusses all new accepted referrals at the next MDT with the consultant and they agree on a case management plan and identify the professions relevant for each case.

Choosing a triage process that works for your team is important and is often based on the team resourcing and interprofessional structure. We have created a summary of some of the different models used on the following page.

Triage Processes

A Triage Model largely refers to the roles and responsibilities in the activity of triaging. The process relates to how referrals are coordinated and categorised. For many ICPOP teams, urgency levels (Urgent, Semi-urgent and Routine) are utilised for triage and are based on referral criteria. 

Recommendations

As a team, review the different triage models described overleaf which are used by other ICPOP teams. Identify which triage model your team is currently using and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this model. Consider the suitability of other models for your team. When reviewing triage processes, consider developing a checklist that would enable any member of the team to review a referral and classify the triage level for consideration at MDT.

Quality Improvement

Quality Improvement and Programme Development

This section includes resources which aim to support improving systems through collaboration, including co-designed resources and service improvements, developing impact reporting, enhancing role awareness and clarity, and defining ICPOP’s role in the healthcare system and the role of care, this includes:

  • Impact Canvas Framework 
    • Prioritisation Framework
  • Developing Competencies for Interprofessional Collaboration
  • Patient Journey Mapping

The impact assessment framework tool adapts the UCD Impact Canvas to assist in identifying stakeholders of the ICPOP team, capturing knowledge dissemination events (e.g., knowledge exchange activities at different sites, including nursing home visits, posters, networking meetings, etc.), and tracking interactions with other community and primary sector organisations (e.g., Dementia Alliance). It also helps teams to identify challenges and reflect on team experiences and community needs, consider the changes that result from the team's efforts across the system, the sector and patients and caregivers. The canvas enables the team to track, assess, and measure its impact.

Prioritisation Matrix 

A prioritisation matrix was developed to support decision making and enable teams to agree on actionable solutions that emerge from the Impact Canvas. This consists of four quadrants with prompts that assist determining the impact and feasibility of activities.

The ECLECTIC Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaboration in Integrated Care for Older People was co-designed by healthcare professionals working with older people, public representatives of older people and family caregivers with the support of academic researchers. The framework was developed in partnership with the National Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons. It provides a useful resource for teams looking to enhance their interprofessional collaboration with their teams, with older persons and their families and the broader system. This guide provides actionable steps to increase knowledge of the team, enhance communication and effectively share decision-making. 

Core Competencies

Journey Mapping is a method utilised in healthcare to outline and describe the different stages of interaction between a health service user and healthcare providers. This process enables reflection on the strengths and or gaps in care and provides an opportunity for identifying areas of improvement. Aligning the patient experiences with each stage of care provision is useful in establishing a deeper and richer understanding of the perspectives of patients, families and healthcare providers. 

Activity 1: Using the Mapping Older Persons Care Journeys Resource, work through the templates provided and populate the information based on a case the team is familiar with. 

This resource was developed based on a co-design workshop held with an ICPOP team The team identified the need to capture the full scope of interprofessional collaboration and coordination involved with caring for older people and their family in the community. A key idea was the development of case studies that capture and reflect this often invisible work. As such, the UCD research team developed this resource document, which compliments the existing ECLECTIC resource pack and provides a step-by-step guide for ICPOP teams to tailor a patient mapping and case study approach to their settings and for their intended purposes.

Contact the UCD School of Nursing, Midwifery & Health Systems

Health Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4
T: +353 1 716 6407 | Location Map(opens in a new window)