Meeting with Your Collaborating Physician: Best Practices for NPs and PAs
If you’re a Nurse Practitioner (NP) or Physician Assistant (PA) engaged in a healthcare collaboration, regular meetings with your collaborating physician are essential for maintaining effective communication, ensuring compliance, and enhancing patient care.
These sessions provide a valuable opportunity for discussing clinical cases, sharing insights, and aligning on treatment plans, fostering a cohesive partnership that supports both professional growth and patient outcomes.
In this post, we provide some best practices for maximizing the value of these meetings, from setting clear agendas and goals to fostering an environment of open dialogue and mutual respect. Whether you’re new to collaborating with a physician or looking to enhance your existing partnership, these tips will help you make the most of your time together.
Monthly Meetings
Zivian Health requires collaborators to meet at least monthly and attest to their meeting. These meetings may be held one-on-one or in a group setting. The intention of these meetings is to provide additional support, guidance, and education for APPs.
Below, we’ve outlined a proposed agenda and potential topics for discussion.
Proposed Agenda
Below is Zivian’s proposed agenda for your ongoing meetings with your collaborator.
1. Check-in and Welcome
Begin with a quick welcome and check-in to set a positive tone for the meeting.
2. Review of Patient Cases
Focus on patient care issues, clinical questions, etc. If you have any urgent or high-priority patient cases that require immediate attention or coordination, you should not wait until your monthly meeting. Rather, these cases should be communicated in real time with your collaborating physician.
3. Operational Questions
Take some time to ask any questions about logistics such as med-mal providers, recommendations on EHRs, or thoughts around particular workflows or best practices.
4. Quick Updates
Share brief updates on recent medical developments, important guidelines, or essential information that everyone should be aware of.
5. Case Studies and Complex Cases
Analyze complex patient cases in detail, exploring diagnostic challenges, treatment options, and the rationale behind decisions made. This can enhance clinical reasoning skills.
Additional Meeting Topics & Discussion Items
If you would like to discuss other things in your monthly meetings, here are some proposed topics to help foster a productive and supportive collaboration between you and your collaborating physician.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Discuss strategies for collaborating effectively with other healthcare professionals, such as nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and specialists, to provide holistic patient care.
Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM)
Deepen the understanding of EBM principles and critically appraise the latest research studies and their relevance to clinical practice.
Ethical and Legal Considerations
Address ethical dilemmas, legal issues, and informed consent, especially in cases where decisions might be challenging.
Quality Improvement Projects
Plan and execute quality improvement projects aimed at enhancing patient outcomes, reducing errors, and optimizing workflow processes.
Patient Education and Counseling Techniques
Share techniques for effective patient education and counseling, especially for chronic disease management and lifestyle modifications.
Cultural Competency and Diversity Training
Explore strategies for providing culturally competent care and ensuring sensitivity to the diverse backgrounds and beliefs of patients.
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Discuss strategies for managing stress, compassion fatigue, and burnout in healthcare professionals. Promote mental health and well-being among team members.
Medical Technology and Innovations
Stay updated on the latest medical technologies, telemedicine trends, and innovations that can improve patient care and practice efficiency.
Continuing Education Plans
Develop continuing education plans based on their professional goals and areas of interest.
Patient Safety
Review patient safety protocols, adverse event reporting, and strategies for preventing medical errors.
Healthcare Policy and Advocacy
Discuss healthcare policy changes, advocacy efforts, and how healthcare providers can engage in shaping healthcare policy at local, state, or national levels.
Research and Publication Opportunities
Encourage team members to engage in research projects and explore opportunities for publication, if applicable.
Long-Term Planning
Develop long-term goals and strategic plans for the healthcare team, including expansion, specialization, or adopting new services.
How Zivian Health Supports Compliant Healthcare Collaborations
Regular meetings with your collaborating physician are the cornerstone of effective healthcare collaboration, enabling alignment between APPs and their physician collaborators, improving patient care, and cultivating professional growth.
By following best practices—such as setting structured agendas, discussing key patient cases, and exploring relevant topics like interdisciplinary collaboration, evidence-based medicine, and quality improvement—you can maximize the value of each session and strengthen your professional partnership.
At Zivian Health, we encourage regular, meaningful dialogue to support APPs in their roles and enhance their clinical skills. Remember, these meetings are not just about compliance; they are an opportunity to connect, learn, and grow as a team committed to delivering the highest standard of patient care.
Looking to find a high-quality, experienced collaborating physician? Get started today and connect with our team!
