Nurses Perceptions and Attitude Toward Nurse-Doctor Relationship at the Tertiary Hospital in Kuala Lumpur

Background: Nurses and doctors are educated separately, yet nurses and doctors are expected to know how to build a good relationship towards improving patient outcomes.

Methods & Materials: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study to determine the nurses’ perception and attitude toward nurse-doctor relationship in at the Tertiary Hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) in Kuala Lumpur. The research was conducted among the 146 staff nurses working in Surgical and Medical Wards in the UKMMC.

Results: The result revealed that nurses’ perception onto the overall significance of nurse-doctor relationship at hospital is resulted 81.5%. The overall mean score for nurses’ attitude on nurse-doctor relationship was 44.8 (+SD=4.3). There was a significant difference between nurse-doctor relationship and the level of education of the respondents (t=-2.92; p=0.004). 

Conclusion: These professions, nurses and doctors have to play their role and take responsibility for their work to prevent the possibility that can break down in the nurse-doctor relationship. Thus, to enhance nurse-doctor relationship must generate awareness in the working environment. 

Keywords: Nurse-Doctor Relationship; Nurses’ Perception; attitude.