• M Hojat, T J Nasca, M J Cohen, S K Fields, S L Rattner, M Griffiths, D Ibarra, A A de Gonzalez, A Torres-Ruiz, G Ibarra, and A Garcia.
• Jefferson Longitudinal Study in the Center for Research in Medical Education and Health Care, Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107-5083, USA.
• Nurs Res. 2001 Mar 1; 50 (2): 123-8.

BackgroundInter-professional collaboration between physicians and nurses, within and between cultures, can help contain cost and insure better patient outcomes. Attitude toward such collaboration is a function of the roles prescribed in the culture that guide professional behavior.ObjectivesThe purpose of the study was to test three research hypotheses concerning attitudes toward physician-nurse collaboration across genders, disciplines, and cultures.MethodThe Jefferson Scale of Attitudes Toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration was administered to 639 physicians and nurses in the United States (n = 267) and Mexico (n = 372). Attitude scores were compared by gender (men, women), discipline (physicians, nurses), and culture (United States, Mexico) by using a three-way factorial analysis of variance design.ResultsFindings confirmed the first research hypothesis by demonstrating that both physicians and nurses in the United States would express more positive attitudes toward physician-nurse collaboration than their counterparts in Mexico. The second research hypothesis, positing that nurses as compared to physicians in both countries would express more positive attitudes toward physician-nurse collaboration, was also supported. The third research hypothesis that female physicians would express more positive attitudes toward physician-nurse collaboration than their male counterparts was not confirmed.ConclusionsCollaborative education for medical and nursing students, particularly in cultures with a hierarchical model of inter-professional relationship, is needed to promote positive attitudes toward complementary roles of physicians and nurses. Faculty preparation for collaboration is necessary in such cultures before implementing collaborative education.

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