Working in healthcare involves working with multiple disciplines. My work at the Alex Youth Health Centre includes disciplines from; nursing, physicians, dietitians, psychiatry, social workers, mental health clinicians and administrative staff. On top of the work I do supervising frontline staff, I also work closely with the senior leadership team. That team is comprised of a variety of educational backgrounds from communications to computer science. Interdisciplinary work can be challenging to navigate, especially in the nonprofit sector. Due to limited resources, one role often wears numerous hats. This mean communication on roles and responsibilities is key. Having a good understanding of what teammates are responsible for allows you to know what your job entails. I believe it also expands our emotional intelligence; it encourages us to think of others and how what we do impacts their day and role with clients. While there is a lot of research on leadership in general; there is yet to be one most effective way to deliver interdisciplinary services (Nancarrow et al., 2013).
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