Interdisciplinarity in Healthcare

One could argue that interdisciplinarity is a cornerstone in a well-oiled healthcare system. In simple terms, interdisciplinarity refers to the incorporation of multiple knowledge areas or disciplines. In the context of healthcare, interdisciplinarity is integral to understanding the importance of holistic approaches to care. For instance, any combination of clinicians working together on one patient case would be hoping for the same outcome, however they may be applying vastly different expertise as a result of their experiences in different professional areas. 

Because each individual person is so unique and their circumstances are each so complex, limiting the perspective to a fewer number of opinions or approaches would be disadvantageous to the patient. This would be evident in the fact that a wider scope of competency in clinicians results in better patient outcomes, and would lead to more efficient and effective healthcare delivery, including more referrals and less misdiagnoses. At the end of the day, it is the patient perspective that takes precedence, followed by the coordinated efforts and knowledge of interdisciplinary teams to provide the most suitable plan of care for every patient.

There may also be a common misconception that healthcare relies solely on the nurses and doctors to deliver direct patient care, but we often forget about healthcare leaders that are involved alongside these experts, such as in research, education, or even the health technology sector. As a remarkably interdisciplinary field, we may not always be aware of the different healthcare roles that contribute to our society, but that does not mean that these professionals, and the work that they do, are less important than others. 

In 2019, Healthcare Prospectives began as a non-profit initiative, founded by an ambitious group of students including Harneet Hothi, to showcase the journeys of real professionals working in healthcare. The podcast provides students with a space to reflect and learn more about interdisciplinarity in the healthcare system, highlighting the intricate roles and responsibilities of diverse healthcare careers. To gain a little bit more insight into the background of the organization, we connected with Harneet, who was happy to share her story as one of the founders of Healthcare Prospectives.

What inspired you to start this organization?

Back in undergrad, I realized that there was a lack of discussion on the multiplicity of fields in healthcare, at least amongst our community of peers. Healthcare is extremely multi-faceted and involves many moving parts; the provision of wholistic care for patients involves a marriage of multiple systems and/or consideration of multiple perspectives and aspects of living. That’s where a few friends and I started talking about how a focus on the role of interdisciplinary care could bridge this gap in lack of discussion and in our own knowledge. A few meetings later, we had the vision set out and started with interviewing professionals in a diversity of fields to learn about their roles.

Why do you think it is so important for students to recognize this interdisciplinary lens?

We think an interdisciplinary approach to care allows for the provision of comprehensive care for individuals; multiple aspects of one’s well-being may be able to be addressed. Learning about the roles of other professionals not only increases awareness of what resources may be available to patients, but it also may help us to recognize the merits of working collaboratively and enhancing our team work skills.

This year, the Healthcare Prospectives team hopes to continue educating students through our informative content. We want to encourage prospective health professionals to remain curious and become more engaged in their educational journeys by gaining a better understanding of what healthcare really means for all members involved. Moreover, we hope to assist students in finding opportunities for further immersion into interdisciplinarity; most of which can be found in the ‘Resources’ tab of our webpage. 

Finally, we would like to leave you with one last question:

How have you experienced interdisciplinarity in healthcare?

Your Healthcare Prospectives Team