Perceptions that affect physician-nurse collaboration in the perioperative setting

Area of Science:

• Healthcare
• Nursing
• Surgical Care

Background:

• Effective physician-nurse collaboration is vital for patient safety, especially in demanding surgical environments.
• Understanding perceptions of collaboration is key to improving interprofessional dynamics in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess physicians' and nurses' attitudes toward collaboration in the surgical setting.
• To identify differences in collaborative attitudes based on gender, nursing specialty, and professional experience.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration to survey surgical physicians and nurses.
• Analyzed responses to determine correlations between attitudes and demographic/professional factors.

Main Results:

• Nurses demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes toward collaboration compared to physicians.
• Nursing specialty and gender did not emerge as significant factors influencing collaborative attitudes.
• Length of professional experience was found to have a notable impact on collaboration perceptions.

Conclusions:

• Addressing the disparity in collaborative attitudes between physicians and nurses is essential for enhancing surgical patient care.
• Further research into the influence of experience on interprofessional collaboration is warranted to optimize teamwork in surgical arenas.