Such approaches to care are dependent on a high level of co-operation between members of different professions within the multidisciplinary team. Inherent in the concept of such a team is the assumption that each team member has a clear understanding of the role of all other members. This project set out to test this assumption by examining the knowledge and perception of nurses and podiatrists with regard to each other's role. March 19 1996. These key words are based upon work undertaken by the RCN Library.
Patients attend clinics which have very strict appointment systems.
This is a broad definition and gives no indication as to the level or scope of practice of the modern day practitioner. He or she must have a wide range of relevant medical knowledge with sufficient depth of understanding to take total responsibility for the health of the foot and lower limb. The clinician must, by necessity, be a reflective practitioner who can use his or her knowledge base to prescribe the best possible treatment regimes for patients. The term podiatry is more favoured in the European Union and is in line with worldwide terminology used to describe individuals who treat foot related problems. Respondents were also asked to state how they had learned about this role, how they liaised with the nurse or podiatrist member of the multidisciplinary team, what factors they took into account when referring patients and how they thought co-operation between the two professions could be enhanced.