CRNA-physician collaboration in anesthesia

The benefits of collaboration in healthcare have been linked positively with higher patient satisfaction, improved patient outcomes, enhanced nursing staff satisfaction, and decreased hospital costs. A sample of nurse anesthetists and anesthesiologists affiliated with postgraduate training programs in the state of Texas responded to a survey designed to gather attitudes toward physician-nurse collaboration using an adaptation of the Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration. Two-hundred seventy surveys were completed by 62 anesthesiologists and 208 nurse anesthetists. The mean for the total scores on attitudes toward collaboration for anesthesiologists was 44.4 (+/- SD 8.7) and 51.8 (+/- SD 2.7) for nurse anesthetists. Mean scores were consistently higher in the 4 subscales (showed stronger agreement) for nurse anesthetists than for anesthesiologists. No significant differences in attitudes were found between men and women for the total sample. However, the health discipline showed a statistically significant difference. These findings suggest that Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists who deal with role conflict or unclear expectations as well as limited scope of practice may have increased job stress and dissatisfaction.