Change in Nurse-Physician Collaboration in the ICU and Downstream Improvement in Clinician Burnout

Background: Clinicians working in critical care settings are exposed to the suffering and loss of patients on a routine basis, and may experience emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and low personal accomplishment characteristic of burnout. The quality of nurse-physician collaboration is associated with burnout, however, the way this association unfolds is not well-established. Aspects of collaboration could precipitate burnout, or burnout could undermine the quality of workplace collaboration. Methods: This secondary analysis was conducted with data on nurse-physician collaboration, and burnout derived from a written communication intervention. Cross-lagged panel analysis was used to assess the temporal association between change in nurse-physician collaboration and burnout. Results: Linear mixed models indicated that improvement in nurse-physician collaboration predicted subsequent decrease in depersonalization (B = −.176, P = .008). Change in burnout was not associated with subsequent change in nurse-physician collaboration. Conclusions: Periodic change in nurse-physician collaboration was associated with a subsequent decrease in depersonalization. These findings point to the possibility that structural-level process improvements could enhance workplace well-being by enhancing the quality of interprofessional relationships.