ABSTRACT

This chapter provides an overview of the literature related to effective collaboration among critical care professionals and between patient/family members. It shows that four central themes were key to developing and sustaining these differing forms of collaboration. Effective interprofessional collaboration is essential in critical care settings due to the clinical vulnerability of the patient population, many of whom may not be able to give voice to their concerns and the complexity of technology in these environments. The chapter describes the infrastructure to support sustainable improvement and explores how local context impacts collaboration. It provides psychologically safe environments and suggests patients and their families a voice. Effective collaboration engages patients and their families. From a conceptual perspective, patient-centred care makes intuitive sense; however, from an operational perspective, the concept is challenging to implement, particularly in the critical care environment where "the nature and extent of patient/family involvement can be fraught with tension".