Perception of medical and nursing students towards interprofessional nurse-physician collaboration at Al-Azhar University: a comparative cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Effective healthcare relies on strong collaboration between nurses and physicians. Interprofessional education [IPE] plays a vital role in fostering positive attitudes of medical and nursing students toward this collaboration. This study aims to explore the perceptions of nurse-physician collaboration among medical and nursing students at Al-Azhar University in Egypt, along with its related factors.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 364 female medical and nursing students. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire comprising socio-demographic and academic information, along with the validated Jefferson Scale of Attitudes toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration (JSAPNC), which assesses attitudes toward nurse-physician collaboration.

Results: Among the participants, there were 153 medical students (including 25 house officers) and 211 nursing students (including 20 interns). Nursing students demonstrated higher scores across all subdomains of the JSAPNC, with a significantly higher total median score (47.9 vs. 44.8, p < 0.05). Nursing students with a positive perception had significantly lower parental education levels and family income compared to medical students (p-value < 0.05). Additionally, 55.7% of nursing students had a history of clinical training, compared to only 9.3% of medical students (p-value < 0.001). The determinants of positive perception among students differed, with 53.3% of nursing students citing clinical observations in hospitals, while 76.7% of medical students identified social media as the primary factor. Moreover, medical students exhibited a more positive overall attitude towards nurse-physician collaboration than house officers, with a total score median of 44 vs. 42 (p value = 0.05). However, no significant differences were observed between nursing students and interns across all JSAPNC domains.

Conclusion: Nursing students had a more positive attitude toward nurse-physician collaboration than medical students; their perceptions were shaped by clinical training, while social media impacted medical students. Enhancing structured teamwork in training and addressing social media roles can improve collaboration and patient care.

Keywords: Interprofessional collaboration; Medical students; Nursing students; Perception.

Fig. 1

Perception toward collaboration among medical and nursing students

Fig. 2

Self-reported factors associated with positive perception among the studied medical and nursing students