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Nurse/physician collaboration: action research and the lessons learned
A E Dechairo-Marino1, M Jordan-Marsh, G Traiger
1Patient Care Services, El Camino Hospital, Mountain View, California, University of Southern California, Department of Nursing, Voluntary Faculty, Los Angeles, California, USA. dechairomarino@earthlink.net
The Journal of Nursing Administration
|June 5, 2001
Summary
Action research improved nurse/physician collaboration interventions and outcome measurement in a fast-paced hospital setting. A significant correlation was found between collaboration levels and satisfaction with decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Nursing Research
- Interprofessional Collaboration
Background:
- Nurse executives often promote collaborative practice, but innovations are rarely studied prospectively.
- Existing collaboration data primarily comes from correlational studies.
- Action research offers a suitable strategy for longitudinal intervention studies in dynamic healthcare settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of an action research model in improving nurse/physician collaboration.
- To measure the impact of interventions on interdisciplinary teams within a hospital.
- To enhance the approach to outcome measurement for collaborative practice initiatives.
Main Methods:
- An action research pretest/posttest design was employed.
- Baggs' Collaboration and Satisfaction About Care Decisions instrument measured collaboration.
- The study included 87 pretest and 65 posttest registered nurses across medical-surgical and intensive care units.
Main Results:
- Intensive care unit (ICU) collaboration scores were higher than in prior research.
- No significant posttest differences were found in collaboration scores for ICU or medical-surgical nurses.
- A strong correlation was identified between reported collaboration levels and satisfaction with decision-making.
Conclusions:
- The study provides longitudinal data on nurse/physician collaboration using a validated instrument.
- It highlights challenges and benefits of conducting research in contemporary healthcare environments.
- Findings contribute to the literature on interprofessional collaboration in nursing and medicine.