Perception of interprofessional conflicts and interprofessional education by doctors and nurses

This study aimed to collect information that is needed to develop interprofessional education curricula by examining the current status of interprofessional conflicts and the demand for interprofessional education.

A total of 95 doctors and 92 nurses in three university hospitals in Seoul responded to a survey that comprised questions on past experience with interprofessional conflicts, the causes and solutions of such conflicts, past experience with interprofessional education, and the demand for interprofessional education.

We found that 86% of doctors and 62.6% of nurses had no interprofessional education experience. Most of them learned about the work of other health professions naturally through work experience, and many had experienced at least one interprofessional conflict. For doctors, the most popular method of resolving interprofessional conflicts was to let the event pass; for nurses, it was to inform the department head. Further, 41.5% of doctors and 56.7% of nurses expressed no knowledge of an official system for resolving interprofessional conflicts within the hospital, and 62.8% of doctors and 78.3% of nurses stated that they would participate in interprofessional education if the opportunity arose.

In Korean hospital organizations, many doctors and nurses have experienced conflicts with other health professionals. By developing an appropriate curriculum and educational training system, the opportunities for health professionals to receive interprofessional education should expand.