Abstract

Collaboration between nurses and respiratory therapists is paramount in providing comprehensive and effective patient care (Kleib et al., 2021). These healthcare professionals bring unique skills and expertise to the table, and their collaboration ensures a holistic approach to the well-being of patients. Nurses are at the forefront of patient care, managing various aspects of treatment and monitoring the overall health of individuals. Respiratory therapists, on the other hand, specialize in the respiratory system, dealing with conditions like asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and other respiratory disorders. The synergy between these two professions is evident in the management of patients with respiratory challenges (Kleib et al., 2021). Teaching and Practice Relevance This interprofessional education activity focused on bringing the respiratory therapy (R.T.) students together with nursing students to make connections and develop a collaboration between their fields. The activity brought R.T. students into the nursing pharmacology course to help educate the nursing students on the many respiratory medications that R.T. can provide. In critical situations, such as those involving respiratory distress, the collaboration between nurses and respiratory therapists becomes a lifeline. Nurses rely on the respiratory therapists' specialized knowledge to assess, diagnose, and treat respiratory issues, while respiratory therapists benefit from the holistic perspective of nurses who consider the patient's overall condition. This activity helped to show nurses how an R.T. can help with a patient in need of respiratory medications. The activity allowed for hands on demonstration from the R.T. students regarding various respiratory medications and how they are delivered. It also focused on the type of education R.T. provides to patients about their medications. The R.T. students created stations with various respiratory medications and demonstrated to the nursing students how to administer the medications and then had the nursing students return demonstrate. Nursing students were shown various inhalers, nebulizers, spacers, and medications via a trach. The activity helped the nursing students to not only understand these medications, but also the education patients required for the patients and how an R.T. can help in their treatment. Purpose and Takeaways Effective communication and shared decision-making between nurses and respiratory therapists lead to streamlined care plans and better patient outcomes. This collaboration ensures that interventions are timely, well-coordinated, and aligned with the patient's individual needs (Rickards & Kitts, 2018). Ultimately, the symbiotic relationship between nurses and respiratory therapists underscores the importance of teamwork in delivering high- quality healthcare, emphasizing the value of their complementary skills in the intricate tapestry of patient well-being (Rickards & Kitts, 2018). By developing this relationship in school, can help to lead to better understanding and use of their collaboration which will lead to better patient outcomes.

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