[Meanings attributed to management as an explanation for clinician managers' attitudes and professional identity]

To understand the process by which clinician managers construct their professional identities and develop their attitudes toward managing.

A qualitative study was performed, based on grounded theory, through in-depth interviews with 20 clinician managers selected through theoretical sampling in two public hospitals of Catalonia (Spain), participant observation, and documentation.

Clinician managers' role meanings are constructed by comparing their roles with those of senior managers and clinicians. In this process, clinician managers seek to differentiate themselves from senior managers through the meanings constructed. In particular, they use proximity with reality and clinical knowledge as the main sources of differentiation.

This study sheds light on why clinician managers develop adverse attitudes to managing and why they define themselves as clinicians rather than as managers. The explanation lies in the construction of the meanings they assign to managing as the basis of their attitudes to this role and professional identity. These findings have some practical implications for healthcare management.