title: Exploration of the concept of collaboration within the context of nurse practitioner-physician collaborative practice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Collaboration in the healthcare setting is a multifaceted process that calls for deliberate knowledge sharing and mutual accountability for patient care. The purpose of this analysis is to offer an increased understanding of the concept of collaboration within the context of nurse practitioner (NP)-physician (MD) collaborative practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  The evolutionary method of concept analysis was utilized to explore the concept of collaboration. The process of literature retrieval and data collection was discussed. The search of several nursing and medicine databases resulted in 31 articles, including 17 qualitative and quantitative studies, which met criteria for inclusion in the concept analysis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Collaboration is a complex, sophisticated process that requires commitment of all parties involved. The data analysis identified the surrogate and related terms, antecedents, attributes, and consequences of collaboration within the selected context, which were recognized by major themes presented in the literature and these were discussed. An operational definition was proposed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increasing collaborative efforts among NPs and MDs may reduce hospital length of stays and healthcare costs, while enhancing professional relationships. Further research is needed to evaluate collaboration and collaborative efforts within the context of NP-MD collaborative practice.
authors.affiliation: Orlando Health Physician Group, Orlando, Florida.
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bridges
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005194:Family Practice / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners; D019555:Physician-Nurse Relations; D010820:Physicians
keywords: Collaboration; concept analysis; healthcare collaboration; nurse practitioner communication; nurse practitioners