Collaboration: foundation for a successful practice.

Collaboration, by definition, is a joint and cooperative enterprise that integrates the individual perspectives and expertise of various team members. Some commonly identified themes of collaborative relationships include collegiality, teamwork, open communication, recognition of one another’s expertise, and a strong level of trust and respect. However, the development of an individual collaborative practice is unique to the practice, should optimize the skills of each party, and allow each participant to provide care within his or her scope of practice. Despite the potential benefits of a collaborative physician-nurse practitioner practice, several barriers also exist. Collaboration should be distinguished from supervision, which implies direct physician oversight of the nurse practitioner (NP) and is a requirement for nurse practitioner practice in some states. This article describes collaborative physician-nurse practitioner relationships in geriatric practice, and guidelines for implementation of a collaborative practice agreement.