Are we born wanting to collaborate? I don’t think so. Most infants I have known are pretty self-centered (which is totally appropriate). I don’t think my houseful of teenagers is as collaborative as they were when they were in elementary school, either. So, based on my own experience, I would say, no, that the appreciation for, and desire to collaborate comes with experience. Some people naturally prefer to work in groups, while others prefer solitary work. Collaboration is different. Collaboration refers to working together, or jointly to accomplish a shared goal. I believe that part of becoming more and more collaborative is realizing and appreciating that others have gifts that I am not blessed with and never will be, and I certainly would want them on my team if we couldn’t be successful without their particular gift! I believe that in order to be a true collaborator, one has to become humble, and admit, that indeed, there isn’t much that I can accomplish all by myself.
As I write this, a couple of sayings come to mind: “a cord of three strands is not easily broken”, or “two (people) are stronger than one”. For the past two years, I have had the privilege to facilitate a collaborative group through REACH. The participants are similar in organizational size, are located geographically close to one another, and they share the same EHR vendor. This group has been through a lot together…implementation of their EHR, working through snags in the meaningful use (MU) reports out of their EHR, sharing workflow “a-ha’s” as they worked toward meeting the MU objectives. They have even visited each other’s sites to observe workflows, report set-up, and other sharing. There was a time when this group was able to persuade their vendor not to charge extra for a piece of functionality that was needed to meet MU. They were successful! They shared a common goal, set forth to achieve it by leveraging the expertise of each individual, and collectively, although small, they continue to be mighty in their achievements. Now, that’s collaboration!
I believe that the outcomes of this group would not have reached the level they have without the amount of collaboration they have enjoyed and been willing to maintain. I assumed that this group might want to disband after the majority of the participants successfully attested to their first 90 days of Stage 1 MU. Instead, the group decided to continue to collaborate, just less frequently. I believe that strong bonds are formed and will be naturally maintained when people successfully collaborate through challenging situations. It reminds me of my days practicing as an RN in acute care. The clinical situations that had the best outcomes were those where all involved (the patient, nurse, respiratory therapist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, pharmacist, physician, dietician, family members, spiritual care) humbly admitted that they couldn’t save the patient on their own, rather, they “pooled” their special areas of expertise and life experience, collaborated to plan, intervene, and support a common goal: assisting the patient to a higher level of functioning. That’s when collaboration can make the difference between life and death! For more stories about the power of collaboration to meet MU, I recommend a visit to the HealthIT.gov website.
