Identifying the unique behaviors embedded in the process of interprofessional collaboration in the ICU

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) is an important aspect of high-quality care in intensive care units (ICUs). The practice of IPC, however, is complex and the components that constitute IPC are not well defined. We sought to identify distinct behaviors embedded in clinician workflow that indicate engagement in the IPC process. We conducted a clinical ethnography in two ICUs in southeastern Michigan. From March 2017 to March 2019, we collected 31 hours of observations and completed 12 separate clinician shadowings and 12 interviews with ICU nurses, physicians, and respiratory therapists. We applied an iterative analytical approach to identify two types of IPC behaviors which we a priori labeled as “enablers” (i.e. the ways clinicians transition into or facilitate collaboration) and “collaborative activities” (i.e. behaviors clinicians use to directly collaborate with other professionals). 18 IPC behaviors were identified–ten “enablers” and eight “collaborative activities.” Specifically, the enablers include: active listening, approach, coordinating work, intraprofessional consultation, invitation, nonverbal accessibility, reflexive questioning, sending pages/call, validation, and verbal accessibility. The collaborative activities are: correction, fill in the gap, information exchange, negotiation, providing help, socializing, teaching/training, and troubleshooting. By identifying IPC behaviors embedded in clinician workflow, our results may support more focused assessments of IPC in practice and guide clinicians toward behaviors they can use to engage in the IPC process.