Determinants of stress for staff in a neonatal intensive care unit.

Doctors’ and nurses’ perceptions of interdisciplinary collaboration in the NICU, and the impact of a neonatal nurse practitioner model of practice

“…In all these instances, doctors perceived a higher degree of collaboration than did nurses. These findings are consistent with previous research (Astbury & Yu, 1982;Stern et al, 1991;King & Lee, 1994;Oates & Oates, 1995;Grindel et al, 1996;Wells et al, 1998). It is of some concern that similar findings have been consistently reported over a period spanning almost 20 years.…”

“…The only exceptions were perceptions of the extent to which standardized patient management contributed to collaboration, on which there was disagreement on the second survey, but not the first; and the fostering of collaboration by daily rounds, on which there was disagreement on the first survey but not the second. Other researchers (Astbury & Yu, 1982;Stern et al, 1991;Oates & Oates, 1995) have reported similar findings, in that doctors believed they were communicating with nurses and involving them in decisions, when nurses perceived otherwise. Our findings provide more detailed information on the different perceptions of nurses and doctors.…”

“…Two studies in Australian neonatal units reported similar findings (Astbury & Yu, 1982;Oates & Oates, 1995). Collaboration has been found to be a significant source of job satisfaction for nurses, with conflict between themselves and doctors being a major stressor, while these issues appear less important to doctors (Astbury & Yu, 1982;Baggs & Ryan, 1990;Oates & Oates, 1995;Anderson, 1996;Bukonda, 1996;. A number of authors suggest that nurses and doctors are likely to view different behaviours as collaborative (Jones, 1994;Oates & Oates, 1995;Keenan et al, 1998;Wells et al, 1998).…”

“…It has been reported in several studies, in a variety of settings, along with the indication that physicians consistently report a greater degree of collaboration than do nurses (Stern et al, 1991;King & Lee, 1994;Grindel et al, 1996;Wells et al, 1998). Two studies in Australian neonatal units reported similar findings (Astbury & Yu, 1982;Oates & Oates, 1995). Collaboration has been found to be a significant source of job satisfaction for nurses, with conflict between themselves and doctors being a major stressor, while these issues appear less important to doctors (Astbury & Yu, 1982;Baggs & Ryan, 1990;Oates & Oates, 1995;Anderson, 1996;Bukonda, 1996;.…”

Stress and mental health in neonatal intensive care units.

“…More has been written about the stresses experienced by nurses in these situations,7-9 but only one study has looked at similarities and differences in the stresses experienced by medical and nursing staff in neonatal intensive care units. 5 None has compared the mental health of these two professional groups using a standard measure of mental health.…”