Nursing's Scope of Practice and Role
in Interprofessional Healthcare

2023 Nursing Academy Report

Role of Nursing in Interdisciplinary Health Care

Nursing shares with all health care disciplines a primary commitment toward the ideal of health for all. The role of nursing varies based upon the population of patients being cared for, but consistently involves patient assessment, patient education, implementation, and evaluation of nursing measures to promote comfort, health and restorative care. The complex nature of today's health issues and health care systems require nurses to work collaboratively with other disciplines to achieve desired outcomes. Therefore, the roles of Nursing in interdisciplinary health care would include:

• Providing direct nursing care in a wide variety of settings (hospitals, schools, outpatient clinics, home and the community), as primary care provider or member of an interdisciplinary team;
• Collaborating with other health professionals through joint planning, decision making, goal setting, and policy development to address health needs of individuals and populations;
• Providing leadership and coordinating interdisciplinary care across the health-illness continuum with attention to physiological, psychological, socio-cultural, developmental and spiritual needs of populations;
• Providing leadership in the delivery of primary care with special attention to health promotion and disease prevention;
• Providing leadership in the education of health professionals that supports the principles of evidence-based care, patient-centered care, using information technology, working effectively in interdisciplinary teams, and applying quality improvement strategies;
• Advocating for consumers of health care for participation in decision-making, access, availability and acceptability of care;
• Participating in interdisciplinary research which measures processes, health status, outcomes, and cost benefits of interdisciplinary models/interventions of care;
• Reducing cost and maximize the efficiency of health care delivery without sacrificing quality by embracing an environment of collaboration; and
• Establishing liaisons with the other health care disciplines with the purpose of considering collaborative/interdisciplinary endeavors for the promotion of health care to individuals, families and groups.