Collaboration and Leadership Reflection

Interprofessional collaboration is foundational to safe, patient-centered care. In the Sentinel U – Interprofessional Collaboration simulation, I took part in a situation that required caring for an elderly patient with many health conditions. The interdisciplinary staff had a nurse, physician, pharmacist, and social worker: Collaboration and Leadership Reflection.

Even though they had unique points of view, the group’s achievement changed depending on how leadership, communication, and involvement with the team differed. Working through this case study reminded me that having an inclusive leadership style and well-structured teamwork helps the group succeed.

The discharge planning meeting demonstrated both successful and unsuccessful collaborative behaviors. The nurse effectively identified polypharmacy concerns and advocated for home health support. The social worker reinforced this by arranging transport and caregiver assistance. Their collaboration promoted continuity of care and addressed social determinants of health.

However, the physician’s dismissive response to nursing input delayed discharge planning and increased patient risk. A gap analysis reveals what worked (team-based advocacy), what failed (hierarchical dismissal), and what should have occurred: inclusive decision-making and mutual respect. Reflective practice helped me recognize how leadership behaviors—both positive and negative—can shape patient outcomes. Jankelová and Joniaková (2021) emphasize that effective communication skills and transformational leadership styles among first-line nurse managers significantly influence nurses’ job satisfaction.

According to the study, having such leadership makes the work environment better, improves teamwork and raises the standard of care. Without these leadership qualities, there is a risk of diminished job satisfaction and compromised patient safety.

In the simulation, the nurse exemplified transformational leadership through assertive advocacy, inclusive communication, and alignment with patient goals—despite lacking formal authority. In contrast, the physician demonstrated an autocratic leadership style that limited input and undermined shared accountability. Maldonado and Benítez-Márquez (2023) highlight that emotionally intelligent leaders enhance team performance by fostering trust, recognizing individual contributions, and promoting collective success. Their research underscores that effective leadership transcends formal titles, emphasizing the importance of emotional intelligence and ethical commitment in cultivating collaborative and high-performing teams.

To improve future interdisciplinary outcomes, best-practice leadership strategies must emphasize empowerment and servant-mindedness. Servant leadership, which centers on empathy, humility, and service to others, aligns closely with nursing values. Cai et al. (2024) show that servant leadership increases work engagement, resilience, and collaboration by fostering organizational support and prioritizing employee development and well-being.

In the simulation scenario, this style would have validated the nurse’s observations, promoted shared understanding, and streamlined care planning. To develop my servant leadership capacity, I plan to engage in reflective journaling, seek mentorship from experienced interprofessional leaders, and complete training in team dynamics and emotional intelligence. These steps will help me lead inclusively, build trust, and empower colleagues across disciplines.

In parallel, best-practice interdisciplinary collaboration strategies are essential for effective teamwork. The SBAR communication model (Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation) is a validated framework that reduces errors and ensures clarity, particularly during transitions of care. Buljac-Samardzic et al. (2020) confirm that structured interventions improve team communication precision and support timely, effective decision-making in healthcare settings.

Moreover, integrating the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) competencies—mutual respect, role clarity, and shared accountability—fosters a culture of collaboration and patient-centered care. Restoring these tools in the simulation might result in the physician including more in their approach, leading to a safer and more efficient process for discharge.

To support both leadership and collaboration best practices, I must continue developing my servant leadership style. This way, I will be able to stay attentive, support others’ views and push for teamwork in care settings. Reflecting on work, taking part in team courses and paying attention to helpful feedback will help transform me into a leader who supports teamwork and helps everyone develop. To achieve better results and ensure strong care, it is important to focus on these competencies at a system level.

Overall, the simulation lessons show that leadership and teamwork are important in forming the care provided to patients. By looking closely at both positive and negative aspects of teams, applying proven strategies and constantly learning, I am more equipped to be a transformational and servant leader. I am committed to making my future practice inclusive, reflective and based on teamwork, which are key aspects for providing excellent interprofessional healthcare.

References

Buljac-Samardzic, M., Doekhie, K. D., & Wijngaarden, J. D. H. (2020). Interventions to improve team effectiveness within health care: A systematic review of the past decade. Human Resources for Health, 18(2), 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-019-0411-3

Cai, M., Wang, M., & Cheng, J. (2024). The effect of servant leadership on work engagement: The role of employee resilience and organizational support. Behavioral Sciences, 14(4), 300. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11047623/

Jankelová, N., & Joniaková, Z. (2021). Communication skills and transformational leadership style of first-line nurse managers in relation to job satisfaction of nurses and moderators of this relationship. Healthcare, 9(3), 1–19. NCBI. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9030346

Maldonado, I. C., & Márquez, M.-D. B. (2023). Emotional intelligence, leadership, and work teams: A hybrid literature review. Heliyon, 9(10), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20356

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Assessment 1: Collaboration and Leadership Reflection
Create a reflection that addresses either an interprofessional collaboration you experienced or you observed from the Sentinel U – Interprofessional Collaboration simulation.

Introduction
Leadership and collaboration are critical aspects of a nurse’s work. The use of effective leadership skills and interprofessional collaboration allow practitioners to share their perspectives in guiding patient care for the purposes of promoting optimal health and well-being. This can only be achieved when individuals have a true perception of who they are as a person.

Reflection is a key part of building leadership skills and interprofessional relationships. It allows you to look critically at experiences and actions through specific lenses. Reflection can help you consider potential reasons and causes of people’s actions and behaviors and allow you to think about how to respond appropriately. This is vital because nurses are often at the frontlines of interacting with various other disciplines and are considered full partners when approaching healthcare of patients.

As you begin to prepare this assessment you are encouraged to complete the What is Reflective Practice? activity. The activity consists of five questions that will allow you the opportunity to practice self-reflection. The information gained from completing this formative will help with your success on the Collaboration and Leadership Reflection assessment. Completing formative assessments or activities is also a way to demonstrate course engagement.

Professional Context
This assessment is designed to help you become a reflective practitioner. By reflecting on your leadership style, along with the styles you’ve observed in others, you will learn to continually assess and improve your leadership and collaboration skills.

You may choose to reflect on a collaborative interprofessional experience in a current or former place of practice, or you may choose to imagine yourself in the five short modules in the Sentinel U – Interprofessional Collaboration simulation.

Instructions
Part 1: Create a one-page infographic resume of your current strengths as a leader
Briefly describe your leadership style. Create a short, one-page infographic resume or poster to advertise your strengths. You can use an online tool or simply use the graphics capabilities of Word to create your infographic.

Here’s an example:

• Infographic Resume Example [PDF].

Part 2: Write a two-page reflection
Reflect on the leadership styles you’ve observed in others, as well as an interprofessional collaboration experience from your personal practice. (If you’re having a hard time coming up with an example from your own experience, complete the five short modules in the Sentinel U – Interprofessional Collaboration simulation).

What did or would effective leadership look like? What did or would effective collaboration look like? Remember that leadership can be demonstrated by those who aren’t in official leadership positions as well as by formal leaders.

Be sure that your assessment addresses the following criteria. Please study the rubric carefully so you understand what is needed for a distinguished score.

• Reflect on an interdisciplinary collaboration experience, noting ways in which it was successful and unsuccessful in achieving desired outcomes, and how effective leadership, or a lack of it, played a role. This may be the Sentinel U simulation on Interprofessional Collaboration. There are five modules in this simulation
  • A simplified gap-analysis approach may be useful:
    • What happened?
    • What went well?
    • What did not go well?
    • What should have happened?
• Compare and contrast effective leadership with ineffective leadership. What have you observed in others that works or doesn’t work when it comes to leadership?
• Given what you’ve shared about effective leadership and also what effective collaboration looks like, identify best-practice leadership strategies from the literature that would improve an interdisciplinary team’s ability to achieve its goals, citing at least one article from the literature.
• Also identify best-practice interdisciplinary collaboration strategies from the literature that would improve an interdisciplinary team’s ability to achieve its goals, citing at least one article from the literature.
• What leadership style do you think you need to develop more to support the above best-practice strategies you’ve described? How would you do that?
• Include a full reference list from relevant and evidence-based (published within 5 years) sources, adhering to APA format.
• You will also be required to submit an APA-formatted reference list for any sources that you cited or used to inform your reflection.

Additional Requirements

• Length of submission: Part 1 is a one-page infographic resume consisting of bullet points and a few sentences. Part 2 is two pages in length double-spaced, not including the reference page.
• References: Per the instructions above, cite at least 3 professional or scholarly sources of evidence to support the assertions and proposals you make. Include additional properly cited references as necessary to support your statements.
• APA reference page: Submit a correctly formatted APA reference page that shows all the sources used to develop the content. You may wish to refer to the APA Module for more information on applying APA style.

Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

• Competency 2: Explain how interdisciplinary collaboration can be used to achieve desired patient and systems outcomes.
  • Reflect on an interdisciplinary collaboration experience, noting ways in which it was successful and unsuccessful in achieving desired outcomes.
  • Identify best-practice interdisciplinary collaboration strategies to help a team to achieve its goals and work together more effectively, citing the work of at least one article in the presentation.
• Competency 4: Explain how change management theories and leadership strategies can enable interdisciplinary teams to achieve specific organizational goals.
  • Describe one’s leadership style.
  • Compare and contrast effective leadership with ineffective leadership.
  • Identify best-practice leadership strategies from the literature that would improve an interdisciplinary team’s ability to achieve its goals, citing the work of at least one article in the presentation.
  • Describe a leadership style to develop to better support best-practice strategies.
• Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based communication strategies to impact patient, interdisciplinary team, and systems outcomes.
  • The full reference list is from relevant and evidence-based (published within 5 years) sources, exhibiting nearly flawless adherence to APA format.

Scoring Guide

• Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated.