Collaborating in healthcare delivery: exploring conceptual differences at the "bedside"

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Interprofessional Education
• Organizational Behavior in Health

Background:

• Persistent calls for enhanced collaboration among health professionals and supportive programs exist.
• Existing interventions to improve collaboration often lack a strong conceptual foundation and contextual awareness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore senior doctors' and nurses' experiences with interprofessional collaboration.
• To analyze the processes involved in interprofessional collaboration within hospital settings.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving interviews with senior doctors and nurses.
• Analysis of interview data using a framework based on activity theory.
• Exploration of collaboration within two distinct hospital-based services.

Main Results:

• A dichotomy was observed between nurses (collectivist, protocol-driven) and doctors (individualist, autonomy-driven).
• The manifestation of this dichotomy varied across the two hospital services studied.
• Contextual factors significantly influence the dynamics of interprofessional collaboration.

Conclusions:

• Addressing the complexities and contextual factors is crucial for effective interprofessional collaboration.
• Future interventions must account for inherent professional differences and service-specific contexts.
• Failure to address these factors will likely result in continued shortcomings in collaborative efforts.