[Dominance and resistance in nursing work]

Area of Science:

• Nursing Studies
• Sociology of Work
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Workplace dynamics in healthcare are complex, involving hierarchical structures and power relations.
• Understanding nurses' experiences with domination is crucial for improving work environments and patient care.
• Previous research has touched upon nurse-physician interactions, but a comprehensive view of domination across all relationships is needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the forms of domination experienced by hospital nurses in their daily work.
• To explore how nurses manage and respond to these dominating occurrences.
• To identify mediating processes in confrontational relationships and their role in comprehending and transforming work.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative methodology employing in-depth interviews with 15 nurses.
• Analysis of official documents from the Regional Council of Nurses and the Nurses' Union in Ceará.
• Grounded theory approach to data analysis, focusing on lived experiences and contextual factors.

Main Results:

• Forms of domination are prevalent in daily nursing work, perpetuating unequal relationships.
• Domination occurs in interactions with doctors, nursing peers, and auxiliary personnel.
• Nurses employ a range of resistance strategies, including individual, informal, formal, and collective approaches, with formal/collective methods used less frequently.

Conclusions:

• Workplace domination significantly contributes to the reproduction of inequality within hospital settings.
• Nurses' resistance strategies, though varied, are essential for navigating and challenging these power imbalances.
• Further research should explore the effectiveness and development of collective resistance among nurses to foster systemic change.