COLLABORATIVE PRACTICES IN HEALTHCARE
Keywords: Collaborative practices; Interprofessionality; Collaborative skills; Teamwork; Collaboration.
This research was carried out at the Professor Gilberto de Macedo Teaching and Care Unit, a practice unit of the Federal University of Alagoas, which operates under an agreement with the Municipal Health Department of Maceio. This unit is staffed by two Family Health Strategy teams, which took part in the research. The general aim of this study is to analyse existing collaborative practices in the work carried out by the professionals who work in the unit. More specifically, it aims to identify the collaborative practices developed by the professionals, distinguish the possible challenges faced by the team in implementing them and recognize the interaction between the teams, the teachers and students in the construction and implementation of these practices. The study applied Mary Jane Spink's Discursive Practices and the Production of Meanings (2010) as its theoretical basis. The technique used for data collection was the Conversation Circle, and the information was recorded and transcribed in full. From this, a dialogic map was constructed with the appropriate classification of the speeches into four categories: concept, actions said to be collaborative, stage of what it should be, necessary competencies and inhibiting elements. In the results and discussions, the participants showed that they were partially familiar with the theoretical conceptualization of the subject. They found it difficult to list collaborative practices objectively, but cited important skills such as communication, user-centred attention, the importance of the user as an active and integral participant in the collaborative practice. Interpersonal conflicts were mentioned and the lack of meetings to resolve them and to plan actions in an integrated way was noted, thus being limiting factors and challenges to be overcome. The research concludes that there is a need for theoretical grounding on the subject, whether through continuing or permanent education, to make collaborative practices effective in the daily lives of professionals.