Interprofessional Care: Patient Experience Stories

Interprofessional care (IPC) has been discussed in the literature as having the ability to lower health care expenditures, decrease wait times, enhance patient health outcomes and increase healthcare provider (HCP) satisfaction with care-delivery. To date, limited research has been conducted on patients’ experiences of receiving IPC. Using Connelly and Clandinin’s Narrative Inquiry qualitative research approach, three participants were invited to engage in a modified version of Schwind’s Narrative Reflective Process, a creative self-expression tool that utilizes storytelling, metaphor selection, drawing, creative writing and reflective dialogue. Participants shared their stories, and selected and drew metaphors that best represent for them their experiences of receiving IPC. They were also asked whether or not they believe person-centered care was delivered to them. Collected stories were analyzed as per the three common places of Narrative Inquiry: temporality, sociality and place, as well as the three levels of justification: personal, practical and social. Told stories were examined through the theoretical lens of the National Canadian Interprofessional Competency Framework. Three narrative threads emerged within this study: communication, interprofessional team composition, and patient within interprofessional team. The findings appear helpful to inform educators, HCP, policy makers, and researchers, as they strive to enhance person-centered interprofessional care practice. For patients, a clear opportunity for their voices to be heard has been outlined.