Nurse–physician collaboration: a meta-analytical investigation of survey scores

Abstract

This meta-analysis investigated differences between nurses and physicians in interprofessional collaboration (IPC) ratings. Fifty-one surveys, representing a total of 18 782 professionals and students (13 132 nurses and nursing students, and 5650 physicians and medical students), were meta-analyzed, considering several moderating variables. Overall, nurses scored higher on IPC than physicians. Sensitivity analysis revealed that while physicians perceived more existing collaboration than nurses, nurses had a more positive attitude toward collaboration than physicians. Moreover, IPC ratings of nursing and medical students did not differ from those of practitioners. Finally, it appeared that interprofessional education interventions were able to reduce the difference in IPC between nurses and physicians.

• Interprofessional collaboration
• meta-analysis
• nurse
• physician

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the writing and content of this article.

Notes

¹Several scales have more than one factor. However, in this meta-analysis, the total score was considered in order to compare differences between nurses and physicians on a global assessment of IPC. Only five studies did not report an overall score.