Perceptions of collaborative practice between Navy nurses and physicians in the ICU setting

BACKGROUND: Despite strong evidence for the benefits of collaborative practice between nurses and physicians, this model remains the exception rather than the rule. OBJECTIVES: To examine the extent to which Navy nurses and physicians perceive that collaborative practice exists in the ICU, and to examine the difference in perceived use of collaborative practice by Navy nurses and physicians in the ICU. METHODS: Ninety nurses and 49 physicians working in ICUs at the Navy's four teaching hospitals and aboard the Navy's two hospital ships deployed in Southwest Asia were surveyed using the Collaborative Behavior Scale-Part I and the Collaborative Practice Scales. RESULTS: There was a significant difference between nurses' and physicians' perceptions of collaborative practice behavior. Physicians reported that collaborative practice behavior existed to a greater extent than did nurses in the study. There was no significant difference between nurses' and physicians' perceived use of collaborative practice behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Navy ICU nurses and physicians perceived that they were involved in collaborative practice behavior at a moderate level. Physicians, however, reported perceiving collaborative practice to a greater extent than did nurses. Further research, in different populations, is required to test the theorized constructs of the instruments used to measure perceptions of collaborative practice behavior in this study.