Relationships of nurse-nurse collaboration and nurse-physician collaboration with the occurrence of medical errors

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 five-component nurse-nurse collaboration and three-component nurse-physician collaboration scales. Data were analyzed using independent t-tests, ANOVA, x 2tests, 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.