Nurse practitioners' and physician assistants' perceptions of the collaboration process: An exploratory study in Alaska.

摘要

Collaboration is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon which has been integrated into the health care delivery system in various forms and settings. The collaboration process between nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) is not well documented. In collaborative relationships, NPs and PAs would complement each other, sharing resources, skills, and knowledge unique to their respective professions. The purpose of this study was to investigate NP and PA perceptions of the collaborative process between the two professions. This exploratory descriptive study was organized with the conceptual framework of collaboration developed by Henneman, Lee, and Cohen (1995).;The findings suggest that NPs and PAs have a common perception of the collaboration process and most participants engage in more collaborative behaviors rather than less. The results of this investigation provide an introduction to studying collaborative interactions between NPs and PAs. The continued encouragement and support of collaborative interactions will benefit both professions as well as the general public.;The population (N = 469) consisted of all licensed NPs (n = 271) and PAs (n = 198) with a mailing-address in the State of Alaska. Participants completed the newly developed 18-item Perceptions of Collaboration Scale and a demographic data form. In addition, subjects who had experienced collaborative relationships with the other profession completed the 20-item Collaborative Behavior Scale-A (Stichler, 1990).