UCSF

Introduction: Evidence indicates that effective collaborative practice among health professionals may improve care quality, reduce medical errors, and improve work satisfaction. Little is known regarding factors that may be associated with greater collaborative practice, especially among mental health professionals. The purpose of this study was to identify the extent to which gender, specific profession, years of clinical experience and age influence a mental health professional’s perception of collaborative practice in his/her work environment.

Methods: A sample of 86 mental health professionals employed at two urban hospitals completed a clinical and demographic questionnaire and the Collaborative Practice Assessment Tool- revised (CPAT-r). Linear regression procedures were used to examine the relationship of predictors to clinician’s perceptions of collaborative practice.

Results: One predictor, professional group, was significantly associated with perceptions of collaborative practice, accounting for 11% of the variance. Psychiatrists perceived their practice to be more collaborative than did psychiatric nurses. When looking at specific dimensions of collaborative practice, significant differences were found for interprofessional conflict resolution. Psychiatric nurses viewed their work environments as having less collaborative resolution of interprofessional conflicts than did psychiatrists. Individuals who were younger but had more years of clinical experience viewed their environments as having more collaborative resolution of interprofessional conflicts than did older clinicians with fewer years of clinical experience.

Conclusions: Psychiatrists may have lower expectations for the amount of collaboration that should be occurring, resulting in more positive perceptions of the actual collaboration taking place. Congruent with a traditional medical model, the psychiatrist may view his/her role as making the ultimate decision if conflicts emerge, rather than negotiating a collaborative resolution. Younger clinicians are less likely to have been educated within a traditional medical model and may use more collaborative approaches to resolve conflicts. However, clinical experience may engender sophisticated communication skills that enhance negotiation of conflicts.

Findings should be confirmed with a larger sample across a variety of psychiatric settings. The influence of clinicians’ educational preparation and specific work responsibilities should also be examined. Interactions among varied clinical and demographic factors should be assessed, along with the mediating role of communication competence and other skills.