The nurses' role in an acute psychiatric multidisciplinary team

Abstract

The psychiatric wards are specialised section where treatment has changed through the course of times, but it is still an evolving process since the demands of health care keep changing. The phasing out of mental health asylums initiated the development of multidisciplinary teams (Burns and Lloyd, 2004). Traditionally health care and social services practitioners had regularly worked in their own spheres of clinical training, often with only a slight understanding of each other's contributions and some level of indifference to learning about each other's role. The terms 'multidisciplinary teams' (MDTs), 'interdisciplinary teams' (IDTs), and 'transdisciplinary teams' (TDTs) were interchangeably used, and whilst there was a separation of terms, there was not one acknowledged definition for any of them (Lichtenstein, Alexander, McCarthy and Wells 2004). The research study aimed to explore the views of nurses working in acute psychiatric wards in Malta. The set objectives were: 1. what would the nurses' consider to be in the MDT 2. to investigate the role of nurses in MDT 3. to investigate the communication among the team 4. to explore what promotes and what hinders team communication. The participants in the study were nurses working in four acute psychiatric wards and forty-four (n=44) accepted to participate. Data was collected via a piloted Likert scale questionnaire specifically developed for the study and the questions were analysed using quantitative descriptive data analysis. The research concluded that there was an unclear definition of MDTs amongst the nurses. Yet an MDT approach was seen as needed as it created an environment of safety and trust. Effective communication, collaboration and academic training were fundamental characteristics for the team effectiveness and for the patients' outcomes. The Medical model and power imbalance within the MDT were argumentative attitudes towards nursing practice since nurses showed concern to voice their opinions within the MDT thus allowing other dominant disciplines to be prominent. The research and education recommendations were joint professional training and continuous professional development courses for nurses.