Background: IOM reports medical errors cause excess mortalities in US hospitals (Kohn, 1999). Cause of errors includes systems problems and lack of teamwork. Nurse-physician (N-P) teams influence costs and patient care effectiveness (Knaus, 2001).  Using human patient simulators (HPS) for competency, teamwork and collaboration reduces medical errors (Messmer, 2005).

Purpose: To assess leader empowerment (LE), organization work satisfaction (OWS), nursing job satisfaction (NJS), job stress (JS) and collaborative N-P relationships using HPS.

Methods: Descriptive, exploratory study Research #1: What is N-P collaboration level using Kramer/Schmalenberg’s (2002) N-P Scale (KSNPS), Group Cohesion (GC), Collaboration & Satisfaction about Patient Care Decisions (CSCD), Leader empowerment, nurse/work satisfaction and job stress instruments. #2: What is relationship between N-P collaboration, competency and medical errors?  Participants- 18 Teams-50 nurses/55 medical residents (3 residents/3 nurses) videotaped in 3 “mock code” scenarios with debriefing sessions.

Findings: Mode age (28-32), 48% Hispanic, 62% female. Males- significant higher GC scores (F=4.94), significantly higher CSCD than females (F=8.35). KSNPS increased per scenario. Although teams perceived collaboration, videotapes revealed evolving over time. Significant reduction in medical errors with increased leader empowerment and organization/nurse satisfaction. There was no significant correlation between KSNPS, Satisfaction and HPS scores.

Conclusions 1^st scenario  professionals communicated with each other (silos); 2^nd nurse/residents communicated, evolving into “working” team; 3^rd team communicated more effectively and genuinely listened to each other.

Significance of Study: Simulation provides unique opportunities for nurses to recognize deficiencies, react to crisis with expertise, keen assessment skills and collaboration teamwork, while reducing errors and saving patients’ lives.