Australian hospital generalist and critical care nurses' perceptions of doctor-nurse collaboration

Abstract

Previous researchers have indicated that collaborative practice between doctors and nurses results in positive effects on patient care, health-care costs and provider satisfaction. Despite these benefits, collaborative practice appears to be the exception, rather than the dominant pattern, within health care. A collaborative relationship cannot evolve if individuals do not value and respect others' competencies. This study, a mailed survey, used the Collaboration with Medical Staff Scale to compare the perceptions of doctor-nurse collaboration held by critical care nurses and generalist hospital nurses. The hypothesis that critical care nurses perceive there to be greater collaboration with doctors than their generalist nurse colleagues was supported even after taking into consideration education and experience. These results suggest that critical care is an area that might be useful when trying to understand the dimensions and implications of collaboration among health professionals.