J Korean Acad Nurs Adm.  2019 Mar;25(2):73-82. 10.11111/jkana.2019.25.2.73.

Relationships of Nurse-Nurse Collaboration and Nurse-Physician Collaboration with the Occurrence of Medical Errors

• Lee YJ
• Hwang JI

• KMID: 2442588
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11111/jkana.2019.25.2.73

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to examine degrees of nurse-nurse collaboration and nurse-physician collaboration, and investigate their relationships to the occurrence of medical errors.
METHODS
A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted with 264 nurses in a university hospital. The questionnaire included fivecomponent nurse-nurse collaboration and three-component nurse-physician collaboration scales. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests, ANOVA, χ2 tests, and multiple logistic regression.
RESULTS
Mean score for nurse-nurse collaboration was 2.8 out of 4.0, and for nurse-physician collaboration, 3.4 out of 5.0. There were significant differences in the nurse-nurse and nurse-physician collaboration scores by nurses' preference to workplace and work unit. A significant difference was found in the nurse-nurse collaboration scores by job position. Fifty-seven (21.60%) nurses responded that they had experienced a medical error in the last six months. Logistic regression analysis revealed that nurse-physician collaboration was a significant factor associated with nurses' error experience. Nurses with higher scores for the nurse-physician relationship component were less likely to experience medical errors.
CONCLUSION
Findings from this study show that nurse-nurse and nurse-physician collaboration were moderate. Negative relationship between nurse-physician collaboration and the occurrence of medical error indicates that enhancing nurse-physician collaboration would contribute to improving patient safety.

Keyword

Cooperative behaviors; Interprofessional relations; Physician-nurse relations; Medical errors

MeSH Terms

Cooperative Behavior*
Interprofessional Relations
Logistic Models
Medical Errors*
Patient Safety
Physician-Nurse Relations
Weights and Measures

Figure

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  Figure 1. Conceptual framework for this study.

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