The Elephant in the Room: Nursing and Nursing Power on an Interprofessional Team

Notions of competency development frequently underlie discussions of interprofessional education and practice. Yet, by focusing primarily on the development of competencies, the discourse remains at a surface level, thus obscuring the root of many of the tensions that commonly occur in interprofessional collaborative teamwork. This qualitative study explored how perceptions of status influenced participation on an interprofessional team. Findings indicate that underlying tensions exist, despite an overarching commitment in both interprofessional practice and client-centered care. In particular, notions of perceived power, voice, and status intersected to create a narrative about the role and status of nursing in an interprofessional team. Both nurses and non-nurses recognized the influence of this narrative on team dynamics and function. This narrative was enacted through verbal and nonverbal behaviors, with passive and active resistance often appearing as a strategy used by nurses to address perceived power imbalances. This study has implications for interprofessional education and practice as it relates to nursing.