Patients', nurses', and physicians' perceptions of the importance of selected nursing activities

This study examined 50 patients', 50 nurses', and 38 physicians' prioritization of selected nursing activities. White's (1979) Nursing Activities Checklist was used. Fifty activities were categorized into four areas: physical care, psychological care, implementation of medical care, and discharge planning. Activities were prioritized from 1 to 5 by subjects.

Utilizing the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and subsequent Tukey tests, the three groups of subjects were found to differ significantly in three of four areas. The patient and nurse samples prioritized physical care significantly higher than did the physician sample (p .05). Nurses prioritized psychological care significantly higher than did the patient and physician samples (p .05). Nurses prioritized discharge planning significantly higher than physicians (p .05). Although the patient group prioritized this activity lower than the nurse sample and higher than the physicians, the difference was not significant. All three groups prioritized medical care at approximately the same level.