Lead with the ask
Open with what you need and how urgently, then give the context. A colleague who knows the question in the first sentence listens to the rest differently.
BH
Brooke Harbor Health System
PMHNP Clinical Learning Environment
Health-System Resource
System ResourceCare coordination, referral, diagnostic, or team-based practice support.
Interprofessional Team Directory
Psychiatric care is delivered by teams. Knowing what each discipline contributes, and when to involve them, is part of the clinical reasoning rather than an administrative afterthought.
Who does what
Match the role to the clinical need
Team composition varies by setting. In some settings one person holds several of these functions, and in others the role does not exist locally. Confirm who is actually available rather than assuming a standard team.
RoleWhat they contributeWhen to involve them
Primary care clinicianMedical diagnosis and management, cardiometabolic monitoring, and continuity across the person's whole health picture.Suspected medical contributors, monitoring that is due, or a finding that needs workup beyond psychiatric scope.
PharmacistInteraction screening, renal and hepatic dosing, formulation and adherence strategies, cost and formulary alternatives, and REMS requirements.Polypharmacy, a complex interaction question, affordability barriers, or uncertainty about a specific product or formulation.
Psychologist or psychotherapistModality-specific psychotherapy, formulation, and structured psychological assessment.A psychotherapy indication, diagnostic ambiguity that testing could clarify, or a need for a treatment the prescriber does not provide.
Clinical social workerPsychotherapy, psychosocial assessment, benefits and housing navigation, and family work.Social conditions are shaping the presentation, or the person needs both therapy and system navigation.
Registered nurseSymptom monitoring, medication administration and teaching, physical assessment, and early detection of change.Inpatient and residential settings, injection clinics, and any setting where ongoing observation informs the plan.
Case manager or care coordinatorAppointment logistics, transportation, benefits, housing, and follow-through between visits.Missed appointments, fragmented care, transitions between levels of care, or repeated barriers to access.
Peer specialist or recovery coachLived-experience support, engagement, and practical navigation of recovery.Engagement is fragile, or the person would benefit from support that complements clinical treatment.
Registered dietitianNutritional assessment, refeeding safety, metabolic management, and eating-disorder nutrition care.Eating disorders, significant weight or metabolic change, restrictive intake, or medication-related metabolic effects.
Occupational therapistFunctional assessment, daily-living skills, sensory strategies, and return-to-work or return-to-school planning.Functioning is impaired in ways a symptom-focused plan will not address on its own.
InterpreterAccurate clinical communication in the person's preferred language.Any encounter where the person's preferred language differs from the clinician's. Use a qualified interpreter rather than a family member.
Family, caregivers, and other collateralHistory the person cannot or does not provide, observed changes, and support for the plan.With consent, or under the narrow circumstances that permit receiving information without it. Document what was shared and what was not.
School and workplace personnelAccommodations, observed functioning across settings, and support for return plans.With appropriate consent, when functioning in that setting is part of the clinical picture.
Ethics, legal, or risk consultationGuidance on capacity, involuntary treatment, confidentiality limits, mandated reporting, and duty-to-protect questions.A decision sits at the boundary of clinical judgment and legal obligation. See the Specialty Practice Area on legal and ethical dimensions.
Working with the team
What makes interprofessional communication actually work
Respect the other scope
Ask for the discipline's judgment rather than for confirmation of yours. A pharmacist told which interaction to check will not surface the one you missed.
Consent and information sharing
Confirm what may be shared, with whom, and for what purpose before disclosing. Substance use treatment records carry additional protections in many settings.
Say who holds what
State explicitly who is responsible for which decision and which follow-up. Shared care fails most often where each clinician assumes the other is managing something.
Document the exchange
Record who was contacted, what was asked, what was recommended, and what you did with the recommendation, including where you diverged and why.
Close the loop
Confirm the recommendation reached the plan and the person. An unread consultation note has not changed anyone's care.
Related
Where this connects
Handoffs & Consultation
Structured formats for consultation, referral, collateral contact, and urgent escalation. Open resource →
Referral Directory
Where to send the person, what the receiving clinician needs, and the access barriers to account for. Open resource →
Legal & Ethical Dimensions
Capacity, confidentiality limits, mandated reporting, and duty-to-protect questions. Open resource →