Engaging employed physicians: reconceptualizing the role of collective identification

This chapter proposes a paradigm shift in considering the collective identification of employed physicians and how it influences physician engagement.

There are many challenges for organizations employing physicians, particularly in terms of engagement in organizational initiatives. Prior research suggests this conflict stems from how physicians think of themselves as professionals versus employees (as forms of collective identification). Unfortunately, research is limited in addressing these dynamics.

This conceptual chapter considers the complex network of relationships that physicians perceive between the collectives to which they belong. A primary collective identification (i.e., the profession) is proposed to influence subsequent collective identification (i.e., the organization), and that these meanings and relationships along with contextual factors drive engagement.

Health care organizations increasingly rely on engagement from their physicians to improve upon coordinated care. This proposed conceptualization offers new insight into the dynamics surrounding how and why employed physicians become engaged.