Examining professional boundaries between nurses and physicians in neonatal intensive care units

Table 6 Three main activities by sector, that represent the attitudes of NICU personnel as to who should make decisions/perform neonatal activities

		Reply of:
Question asked:	Activity	RNs N = 140%	Nursing graduates of PBE course N = 228%	Physicians N = 46	Total N = 414%
Whether the task should be performed by a physician?	Performing a lumbar puncture (LP) and suprapubic aspiration (SPA)	92	95	94	94
	Neonatal intubation and mechanical ventilation	88	86	80	86
	Deciding about the need for umbilical arterial catheter insertion	84	87	85	86
Whether the task should be performed by a graduate of a PBE course?	Analyzing ventilator data and deciding on mechanical treatment plan	61	74	61	68
	Parental education regarding clinical care of the neonate at discharge	44	54	70	53
	Infection Prevention in NICUs	41	48	61	47
Whether the task should be performed by any nurse in the NICU?	Infection Prevention in NICUs	88	77	76	81
	Neonate discharge from NICUs	73	65	35	64
	Parental education regarding clinical care of the neonate at discharge	67	57	39	59

ISSN: 2045-4015