Attitudes towards collaboration and servant leadership among nurses, physicians and residents

A descriptive, comparative study was conducted to examine the attitudes of nurses, physicians and residents towards collaboration and to assess their self-perception of servant leadership characteristics. The Jefferson Scale of Attitudes toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration and the Barbuto-Wheeler Servant Leadership Questionnaire were utilized for data collection. Registered nurses (RNs) (n=2,660), physicians (n=447) and residents (n=171) in a Southeastern United States health system were surveyed via the intranet; there were 497 responses for analysis. The response rate should be considered and generalizations made with caution regarding the study results. RN scores were higher for both total scores and subscales as compared to physician/resident groups for collaboration and servant leadership. There was a weak positive correlation between collaboration and servant leadership in the RN group and no significant correlation between the variables in the physician/resident group. Findings from this study have implications for nursing and physician education and practice and may serve as a framework for future studies. Representative samples are needed to gain further insight and to guide future research.