Which statement is a primary and historical barrier to effective nurse-physician collaboration that has persisted over time?

Question

A) The view among the general population that that nurses' contributions to clients' care is less important to their health and well-being compared to the contribution of physicians
B) The nurses' and physicians' perceptions of inequity in their roles, with nurses assuming a subservient role and physicians assuming leadership and superior role in healthcare settings
C) A general lack of education provided in schools for health professionals about the benefits on healthcare quality linked to nurse-physician collaboration
D) A lack of published evidence about the effectiveness of collaborative efforts among and between nurses and physicians
E) The lack support at the federal level for efforts to improve health care among the general population through increased nurse-physician-client collaboration.

Answer 1

Answer: B

A primary and historical barrier to effective nurse-physician collaboration has been nurses' and physicians' perceptions of inequity in their roles, with nurses assuming a subservient role and medical providers perceiving their role to be superior in the provision of healthcare services. Evidence does not suggest that the general population views nurses' contributions to the care of clients as less important, thus this is not considered a primary barrier to nurse-physician collaboration. Likewise, because health professional students are in fact educated about the benefits of collaborative practice and published evidence has documented the effectiveness of collaboration in improving client outcomes, these are not barriers to collaboration. In addition, the federal government, as evidenced in particular by the Healthy People initiative, has promoted collaborative efforts among clients, nurses, physicians, other healthcare providers, and the larger community to improve the health of the U.S. population.