Collaboration Insights

Collaboration Insights: A Health Professions Blog for Effective Collaboration is a blog created for students, faculty, and alumni by interprofessional student interns. It is a hub for information on interprofessional education and collaboration: related skill-building, research, professional spotlights, and podcasts.

Person surrounded by symbols to indicate person-centered care principles

Aligning Care With Values: The Core Practices of Person-Centered Care

Have you ever walked out of your health appointment and  wished the healthcare team saw you and not just your symptoms? Person-centered care (PCC) is an evidence-based practice that involves patients as active partners in their own care.

A group of volleyball players huddled together in a circle with their arms around each other smiling looking down at the camera

Serving Together: Lessons in Team Leadership from the Volleyball Court to the Clinic

Just as a captain unites a team of different players toward a shared goal, a healthcare leader must bring together diverse professionals to deliver optimal patient care. Leadership, in both contexts, is not about dominance—it’s about coordination, connection, and cultivating a culture of shared success.

Health professional holding the hand of a patient.

Why Icebreakers Fall Flat (and How to Build Belonging Instead)

Have you ever joined a new team, shared your favorite ice cream flavor, and still walked away feeling like no one really knew you? Becoming part of a new team isn’t just about learning names...

Health professional student in hospital scrubs sitting outside and reading

Burnout in Graduate Health Professional Students: Protective Strategies for Future Leaders of Health Systems

Burnout is a significant concern not only for current healthcare workers but also for graduate students preparing to enter the field. Addressing burnout among health professional students is essential...

A team of five multi-ethnic individuals smiling and talking during a meeting in an office space.

Shared Responsibility: A Framework for Effective Collaboration

In any collaborative interprofessional effort, shared responsibility helps ensure that tasks are distributed fairly and efficiently, that all members remain accountable, and that external stakeholders' needs are addressed.

A close-up image of multiple hands from different individuals placed together in a collaborative gesture.

What Happens When Teamwork Evolves? The Utility of Teaming in Healthcare

Teamwork is an essential component of effective healthcare. Relying on members of the team, including yourself, to collaborate effectively is what makes healthcare work.

Four colorful, human-shaped figures with speech bubbles stand on separate puzzle pieces

From Dialogue to Healing: The Influence of Communication in Healthcare

Recognizing diverse norms across medical settings and applying validated communication tools empower teams to navigate complex cases while balancing the art and science of medicine.

A team of colleagues look at a tablet together.

Appreciating Cultural Differences to Improve Team Dynamics

Ultimately, there is a need to acknowledge, appreciate, and understand the diversity of perspectives that are encountered in a typical work environment.

Collaborative leadership graphic that shows cycle between safe, inclusive, and trusting environment, and building and maintaining relationships

Breaking Hierarchies: Redefining Healthcare with Collaborative Leadership

Collaborative leadership breaks down rigid hierarchies, fostering a culture of shared responsibility, mutual respect, and open communication.

A group of six various health professionals

A Trust Issue: Building Rapport in a New Team Should Begin with Working on Trust

Building rapport in a new team should begin with working on trust – this is how we can apply this concept to healthcare!