Nurse–Physician Collaboration and the Professional Autonomy of Intensive Care Units Nurses

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Poor collaboration between the physicians and the nurses may interfere with nursing performance in patient care. This study aimed to determine the nurse–physician collaboration and professional autonomy of intensive care nurses. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This descriptive correlational study was performed on 126 nurses working in the intensive care units (ICUs) of Ardabil, Iran. The data were collected using the Jefferson scale of attitudes toward physician–nurse collaboration’ (JSAPNC) and the Dempster Practice Behavior Scale (DPBS). The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and frequency) and inferential statistics (t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson). RESULTS: The mean score of the nurse–physician collaboration was found to be 47.83 ± 3.9, which indicates good collaboration between physicians and nurses in the ICUs. The results showed that 73% of the nurses reported a moderate autonomy and 27% of them considered their autonomy to be high. There was no significant relationship between the nurse–physician collaboration and the professional autonomy of the nurses (p >0.05). CONCLUSION: The nurses who participated in this study had a positive attitude toward collaboration with the physicians and a moderate level of professional autonomy. Interventions may be required to further enhance the level of nurse–physician collaboration and the professional autonomy of nurses. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Aghamohammadi D, Dadkhah B, et al. Nurse-Physician Collaboration and the Professional Autonomy of Intensive Care Units Nurses. Indian J Crit Care Med 2019;23(4):178-181.