An integrative review of facilitators and barriers influencing collaboration and teamwork between general practitioners and nurses working in general practice.
OBJECTIVE
To identify facilitators and barriers influencing collaboration and teamwork between general practitioners and nurses working in general (family) practice.


BACKGROUND
Internationally, a shortage of doctors entering and remaining in general practice and an increasing burden of chronic disease has diversified the nurse's role in this setting. Despite a well-established general practice nursing workforce, little attention has been paid to the ways doctors and nurses collaborate in this setting.


METHODS
Integrative literature review.


METHODS
CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Life, Cochrane Library, Joanna Briggs Institute Library of Systematic Reviews and Trove (dissertation and theses) were searched for papers published between 2000 and May 2014.


METHODS
This review was informed by the approach of Whittemore and Knafl (2005). All included papers were assessed for methodological quality. Findings were extracted, critically examined and grouped into themes.


RESULTS
Eleven papers met the inclusion criteria. Thematic analysis revealed three themes common to the facilitators of and barriers to collaboration and teamwork between GPs in general practice: (1) roles and responsibilities; (2) respect, trust and communication; and (3) hierarchy, education and liability.


CONCLUSIONS
This integrative review has provided insight into issues around role definition, communication and organizational constraints which influence the way nurses and general practitioners collaborate in a team environment. Future research should investigate in more detail the ways doctors and nurses work together in general practice and the impact of collaboration on nursing leadership and staff retention.
School of Nursing, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
Susan
S
McInnes
School of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Western Sydney, Campbelltown, New South Wales, Australia.
Kath
K
Peters
School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
Andrew
A
Bonney
School of Nursing, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.
Elizabeth
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8099-986X
E
Halcomb
D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D058006:General Practice / Q000458:organization & administration*; D058005:General Practitioners; D006801:Humans; D009517:New South Wales; D019555:Physician-Nurse Relations
collaboration; general practice; integrative review; interprofessional; physician-nurse relations; primary care; teamwork