Recognition of roles of various professionals by home-visiting specialists

[Purpose] To support home care patients through specialist teams, it is important that home-visiting specialists recognize the roles of other professionals. The present study aimed to determine whether home-visiting specialists recognized the roles of various other professionals. [Subjects and Methods] The study population comprised 400 nurses, 400 rehabilitation specialists, and 122 managerial dieticians providing home medical care. A questionnaire examining whether the home-visiting specialists recognize the roles of various other professionals was mailed to the participants. Returned questionnaires indicated agreement for participation in this study. Based on the responses to the questionnaire, 49 nurses (response rate: 12.3%), 74 rehabilitation specialists (18.5%), and 42 managerial dieticians (34.4%) were included in the study. [Results] Among all the professionals, the recognition of roles of their own profession was greater than that of other professions, as indicated by their response to the question “to explain possible changes in symptoms and how to deal with possible changes in symptoms.” Unlike in case of other professionals, role recognition among managerial dieticians was less than 70% for all items. [Conclusion] Home medical care teams do not always comprise the most suitable professionals. An understanding of how to compensate for gaps in professional roles is therefore important. Good physical assessment skills and an understanding of symptoms of various disorders is important, regardless of the profession.