Ms. Tuckerno has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS)- a condition in which the
protective covering of the nerve is eaten away by the immune system. The patient has over time
been receiving treatment at an internal medicine clinic. Her internist who has been taking care of
her was not in the office for a day and so Ms. Tuckerno would be served by the nurse
practitioner. The nurse practitioner after accessing the patient decided to adjust her treatment
plan. After his return, the internist noted the adjustments and was dissatisfied with the care given
by the nurse practitioner. The internist, therefore, placed the patient back on originally prescribed
treatment plan. Besides improving on communication between the two health care providers, the
best collaborative approach to manage Ms. Tuckerno’s care in my thinking is the
multidisciplinary team approach.
A multidisciplinary team (MTD) approach is simply an integrated team approach to
health care. It is a way of providing medical care to patients by bringing on board professionals
from a wide range of disciplines in a coordinated and effective manner (Chidambaram et al.,
2019). In our case, the internist and nurse practitioner could have practiced on their areas of
expertise. The nurse practitioner, for instance, could have assessed the needs of the patient,
performed a physical examination, interpreted laboratory tests, educated the patient, and
formulated a treatment plan then rolled the ball on to the internist (Donelan et al., 2020). The
internist, on the other hand, could have applied his knowledge and expertise to look through the
report of the nurse practitioner and then make the final decision (Dhanvanthari et al., 2017). In
other words, each of the two health care providers could have provided care to Ms. Tuckerno
based on their area of specialization.
Follow APA guidelines
References
Chidambaram, S., Winston, G. M., Knisely, J. P., Ramakrishna, R., Juthani, R., Salah, K., … &
Pannullo, S. C. (2019). A Multidisciplinary Team Approach to Brain and Spine
Stereotactic Radiosurgery Conferences: A Unique Institutional Model. World
neurosurgery, 131, 159-162.
Donelan, K., DesRoches, C. M., Guzikowski, S., Dittus, R. S., & Buerhaus, P. (2020). Physician
and Nurse Practitioner Roles in Emergency, Trauma, Critical and Intensive Care. Nursing
Outlook.
Dhanvanthari, S., Riccardi, G., Shah, R., Shetty, V., & Ng, H. (2017). Enhancing the Role of
Internists in the Transition From Pediatric to Adult Health Care. Annals of Internal
Medicine, 167(5), 362-363.