Challenges
There are several challenges related to the factor shared values, beliefs, and attitudes.
Challenges include:
- Unwillingness to work together,
- Not appreciating the others’ viewpoints and philosophies,
- Entrenched negative interdisciplinary values,
- Not valuing the role of public health in primary care clinics.
Consider the experience of one dietitian as she describes the challenges within a collaboration when values and attitudes are not shared …
“At the beginning of the collaboration process, I thought everybody was coming together in good faith; however, I learned that attitudes and the lack of appreciation for different values surfaced as we continued to meet.
Suddenly, somebody would say something and it would be surprising as it would reveal a deeply held core belief about an important issue. We really got a sense of just how deep some of the divisions were regarding our values and attitudes.”
Collaborations are challenged when members are unwilling to work together. Entrenched negative interdisciplinary values can be well-established, ingrained, deep-rooted “negative” interdisciplinary beliefs, attitudes, and/or behaviours. This situation will impede any collaboration. It is helpful to the collaboration if these negativities are addressed in order to move forward.
Sometimes, individual negative values, beliefs, and attitudes are deeply rooted.
Listen to one public health physician’s perspective on the relationship among factors:
- trusting inclusive relationships
- effective communication and their effect on
- shared values, beliefs, and attitudes.
A primary care pharmacist discusses how collaborations are nurtured through grassroots/frontline staff level work requiring valuing of each other and understanding of each others’ roles.
Related: Role Clarity
“From my experience, it happens naturally and it happens once different healthcare professionals have an appreciation of what you can bring to the table. For example, I was involved with the pharmacists’ medication review program. And you as the Pharmacy Association cannot go out with letters to all doctors and say we are looking for collaboration. That has to be built at the grassroots level.
Grassroots building, in my experience, is successful. Because once you have physicians appreciating what nurses can do, and nurses appreciating maybe what pharmacists can do, and pharmacists appreciating what nurses can do, it can work! If you bring professionals together, are respectful, open-minded, and willing to work together and appreciate each others’ roles, collaboration can work very effectively.”
There are numerous relationships between the factor— shared values, beliefs and attitudes— and other factors for successful collaboration. Managing challenges and enhancing enablers for shared values, beliefs and attitudes usually means taking actions on factors at the organizational and interpersonal level.
For example, enhancing effective communication, establishing an organizational culture of collaboration, and building trusting and inclusive relationships are just a few of the factors that will impact the factor shared values, beliefs, and attitudes.