Nurses and Professional 'Silos"

This article looks at a healthcare experience through a different lens, from that of a healthcare professional entering hospital as a patient.

As healthcare providers we each work within our specific area of expertise or what may be referred to as our “silo.” Each silo is rich in research, knowledge, experience, and expertise regarding best practices for quality patient care. Each silo also assumes that the other healthcare silos always know, respect, understand, and implement their expert advice and wisdom. However, after this 21-plus day experience as a patient’s family member, not as the healthcare provider, it was perceived that each of the wide array of health care “silos” work alone and are not in collaboration with each other. In addition to the fragmentation, there is no unifying body pulling all the parts together to create this individualized quality healthcare experience so often discussed in not only the literature, but also in every healthcare system’s mission statement. Is it the nurse’s responsibility to ensure that quality patient/family centered care is provided by knocking down these silos and unifying care?

Nurses Must Knock Down Professional "Silos" and Create Quality, Safe and Effective Interprofessional Teams. From the Inside Looking Out: A Healthcare Providers Experience Being the Family Member. Journal of Nursing & Care, 5(3).