Clinical Nurse Leader Practice Exam

What is lateral integration of care?

1. Providing care within a single discipline

2. Coordinating care through multidisciplinary collaboration

3. Managing a patient’s care by one nurse throughout their stay

4. Delivering care in a sequential manner by specialists only

The correct answer is: Coordinating care through multidisciplinary collaboration

Lateral integration of care involves coordinating care through multidisciplinary collaboration, which means that health care providers from different specialties work together to ensure that all aspects of a patient's care are addressed. This approach emphasizes communication and cooperation among various healthcare professionals to achieve comprehensive and effective treatment for the patient. By fostering teamwork across disciplines, lateral integration aims to improve patient outcomes, enhance efficiency, and provide a more holistic approach to healthcare. This collaboration allows for different perspectives and expertise to be utilized, ensuring that care is not fragmented and that the patient receives well-rounded treatment. In contrast, the other options focus on more narrowed approaches to care. Providing care within a single discipline limits the scope of treatment to that specific area, which may not address all of the patient's needs. Managing a patient’s care by one nurse throughout their stay may enhance continuity but does not encompass the multidisciplinary aspect that lateral integration embodies. Delivering care in a sequential manner by specialists alone can lead to silos in care delivery, where each specialist addresses only one aspect of a patient's health without collaborative input from others.