Exploring a Peer Nomination Process, Attributes, and Responses of Health Professionals Nominated to Facilitate Interprofessional Collaboration

Abstract

BACKGROUND:When significant changes are required across an organization, a collaborative approach with wide stakeholder engagement may be beneficial. One of the challenges of stakeholder engagement lies with identifying the most appropriate participants who can most effectively facilitate the process of change.AIM:This article aims to provide insight into a process of identifying individuals, and their attributes, who staff perceive to be effective collaborators, and change agents to decrease intervention in childbirth in one maternity setting in New South Wales, Australia.METHODS:Midwives and obstetricians were invited to nominate a peer from each discipline who they believed to be an effective collaborator and describe the associated personal attributes of these individuals. The 5 highest scoring midwives and obstetricians were then invited to participate in a collaborative project.FINDINGS:The attributes that were most recognized in the collaborators were their effective communication and overall positive attitudes. Collaborator’s skills and knowledge were described less frequently. The nominees chosen identified that they were not usually selected by management for projects with some respondents feeling visible for the first time among their peers.CONCLUSION:This method of peer nomination to recruit participants to facilitate collaborative organizational change may offer an effective method of engaging the whole team in such processes.