Interprofessional Collaboration Between Occupational Therapists and Nurses in an Acute Care Setting: An Exploratory Study

<p><strong>Background.</strong> Collaboration between occupational therapists and nurses is key to a positive prognosis for their patients. Currently, there is a gap in the research on professional relationships between occupational therapists and registered nurses in acute care settings.</p> <p><strong>Purpose.</strong> To examine interprofessional collaboration between registered nurses and occupational therapy in an acute care setting.</p> <p><strong> Methods.</strong> A phenomenological, qualitative design with use of semi-structured interviews was used. Interviewees were four occupational therapists and four registered nurses who currently work in acute care settings in Northern California and were recruited through a snowball, convenience and purposive sampling. Themes and subthemes that emerged from the data answered the research questions.</p> <p><strong>Findings.</strong> The key factors preventing collaboration were: Time constraints, role confusion and overlap, personality factors, and lack of occupational therapy advocacy.</p> <p><strong> Implications.</strong> This study may guide the development of interprofessional education to improve the collaborative relationship between occupational therapists and nurses to ultimately improve quality of care.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Occupational Therapy

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Occupational Therapy

Year dc:date.available

2015

Authors dc:creator

• Loy, Bethany
• Micheff, Holly
• Nguyen, Kelly
• O'Brien, Vincent

Contributors dc:contributor

• Eira Klich-Heartt, DNP, RN, CNS, CNL

• Interprofessional communication
• Interdisciplinary collaboration
• Multidisciplinary care model
• Interprofessional education
• Interdisciplinary education
• Patient health outcomes
• Medical Education
• Nursing
• Occupational Therapy

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/133

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.dominican.edu:masters-theses-1133