Research Article Collaboration among Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses: A Scoping Review of Practice Guidelines Dawn Prentice , 1 Jane Moore, 1 Joanne Crawford, 1 Sara Lankshear, 2 and Jacqueline Limoges 2 1 Department of Nursing, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada L2S 3A1 2 Health, Wellness and Sciences, Georgian College, Barrie, Ontario, Canada CorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedtoDawnPrentice;dprentice@brocku.ca Received 2 December 2019; Revised 6 May 2020; Accepted 8 May 2020; Published 2 June 2020 AcademicEditor:FlorenceLuhanga Copyright©2020DawnPrenticeetal.isisanopenaccessarticledistributedundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicense, whichpermitsunrestricteduse,distribution,andreproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginalworkisproperlycited. Professional associations, nurse scholars, and practicing nurses suggest that intraprofessional collaboration between nurses is essentialfortheprovisionofqualitypatientcare.However,thereisapaucityofevidencedescribingcollaborationamongnurses, includingtheoutcomesofcollaborationtosupporttheseclaims.eaimofthisscopingreviewwastoexaminenursingpractice guidelinesthatinformtheregisterednurse(RN)andregistered/licensedpracticalnurse(R/LPN)collaborativepracticeinacute care,summarizeanddisseminatethefindings,andidentifygapsintheliterature.Tenpracticeguidelines,allpublishedinCanada, wereincludedinthefinalscopingreview.efindingsindicatethatmanyoftheguidelineswerenotevidenceinformed,whichwas amajorgap.Althoughtheguidelinesdiscussedthestructuresneededtosupportintraprofessionalcollaboration,andmostofthe guidelines mention that quality patient care is the desired outcome of intraprofessional collaboration, outcome indicators for measuringsuccessfulcollaborativepracticeweremissinginmanyoftheguidelines.Conflictresolutionisanimportantprocess componentofcollaborativepractice;yet,itwasonlymentionedinafewoftheguidelines.Futureguidelinesshouldbeevidence informedandprovideoutcomeindicatorsinordertomeasureifthecollaborativepracticeisoccurringinthepracticesetting. 1. Background Over the past two decades, the health care system has un- dergone a significant transformation which has required that allteammembersworktotheirfullscopeofpractice.Inorder topracticetofullscope,registerednurses(RNs)andregistered/ licensed practical nurses (R/LPNs) are required to work to- getherusingacollaborativepracticemodelofcaretomeetthe needsofcomplexpatients[1].Collaborationamonghealthcare providers has long been regarded as a means for ensuring optimal quality patient care [2]. As such, the profession has developedguidancedocumentssuchaspracticeguidelinesto supportnursestostrengthentheircollaborativepracticeskills. Collaboration in the context of health care delivery is de- scribedasworkingtogetherwithoneormoremembersofthe health care team with each member making a unique contri- bution toward achieving a common goal [3]. Collaboration betweenteammembersfromthesameprofessionisreferredto as intraprofessional collaboration [3], and among nurses, it is viewed as a relational process between colleagues who share commonprofessionaleducation,values,socialization,identity, and experience [4]. Engaging in collaborative practice is a professional expectation and is a required competency for all categories/designations of nurses in many countries [5–8]. enursingprofessioninCanadaiscomprisedoffour different categories of nurses including registered nurses (RNs), registered/licensed practical nurses (R/LPNs), reg- istered psychiatric nurses (RPNs), and nurse practitioners (NPs). e term LPN is used extensively across North AmericaexceptintheprovinceofOntario,Canada,where LPNsarereferredtoasregisteredpracticalnurses(RPNs). ebasicentrytopracticeeducationalrequirementsforRNs and R/LPNs varies across Canada. However, in most provinces, entry to practice for an R/LPN is a two-year Hindawi Nursing Research and Practice Volume 2020, Article ID 5057084, 7 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/5057084