| Purpose. This study was designed to determine the perceptions that registered nurses and registered respiratory therapists in the State of Texas had about themselves and one another.;Conclusions. Within the limitations of this study, the following conclusions were made:;(1) Statistically significant differences were found in the perceptions of the majority of the issues on the Interprofessional Perception Scale. For perceptions of RNs, differences were found on the issues of autonomy, understanding and using RRTs' capabilities, encroaching on the RRT's territory, being defensive about professional prerogatives, trusting the RRTs' professional judgment, expecting too much, seeking professional advice from RRTs, and cooperating and having good relationships with RRTs. Also, differences were found in perceptions concerning being ethical, having concern for patient welfare, receiving adequate training, and having a higher status.;(2) Statistically significant differences were found on the perceptions of RRTs related to the issues of autonomy, understanding and using the RNs' capabilities, encroaching on the RNs' territory, being defensive about professional prerogatives, seeking professional advice, showing concern for patient welfare, and being ethical.;Methodology. This descriptive, comparative survey used the Interprofessional Perception Scale (IPS). The IPS was mailed to randomly selected RNs and RRTs in the State of Texas to determine their perceptions on 15 issues of the IPS. There were 225 RRTs and 207 RNs who met criteria for inclusion in the study. The Chi-square statistic and McNemar test were used to analyze the data.;(3) Statistically significant changes were found among the RRTs when comparing their perceptions of themselves to what they expected that RNs perceived about RRTs. The changes occurred for the following issues: competence, training, understanding and using of capabilities, encroaching on others' territory, being defensive about professional prerogatives, trusting professional judgment, seeking advice, expecting too much, not cooperating, having good relationships with nurses, being ethical, and having concern for patient welfare.;(4) Statistically significant differences were found among RNs when comparing their perceptions of themselves to what they expected that RRTs perceived about nurses. The changes that occurred with RNs were the same as those issues identified above for the RRTs with the addition of the issue of autonomy. |
