I am now a Master of Health Studies student through Athabasca University. I am currently enrolled in my first course MHST 601 – Foundations of Health Systems in Canada. I am learning a lot and in fact this blogging business and new e-portfolio of mine is a result of my learning. I had the chance to connect with a classmate and chat about our roles in the health care system and areas that we might overlap. Julie Pabillar, RN, who pre-pandemic was working as a Public Health Nurse within a Sexual Health and Harm Reduction Program. Now, she has been re-deployed and is Acting Supervisor managing outbreaks in schools and workplaces due to the pandemic.
Through our emails back and forth we discovered that we both have a passion for working in the Harm Reduction and mental health field. Julie works within a harm reduction framework when working in her public health role. I work with clients who have mental health and substance use disorders and work with a harm reduction approach. In speaking with Julie, I realized the importance of accessibility to care for clients in every door is the right door approach. Currently, I work within an interprofessional primary care team, co-located in a hospital. I work side by side with primary care nurses with roles spanning home nursing, public health, sexual health, and mental health. We also have a dietician, social worker, and life skills workers on the team. It has become increasingly important to have the members of the team together under one roof to provide ease of access to clients. I know that I have many times called in a favor from a colleague for a timely TB test as a client required one to complete a treatment center referral. Having built this relationship with my colleagues ensure that treatment comes in a timely manner. Humans are not one-dimensional beings; we have varying needs and these needs are every changing. The ability to work as a primary care team provides the ability to carry out wrap around services and care that are in the best interest of the client.
If Julie were a public health nurse in my office, we would work together daily. We would meet in the morning huddle, go over referrals and clients who may have multiple needs. We could collaborate to create a plan of care that would take into consideration a harm reduction approach, meeting the client where they are at and providing ease of access to both public health and mental health services. Working in silos reduces a client’s access to seamless health care services. Many times, it is overwhelming to go from office to office and speak to many different professionals who have systems that do not speak to each other. This siloed approach can lead to distrust of health care services which can result in relapses in chronic disease management and higher incidences of emergency room visits.
Of course, no system or care approach is without its challenges, primary care included. I see the challenges outweighing the positive outcomes that working together as a care team brings for clients and their families. Say no to Silos!
To visit Julie Pabillar's E-portfolio https://jpabillar.wixsite.com/e-portfolio
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