Exploring Physician-Nurse Relations Through the Lens of Intersectionality: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Healthcare professional dynamics
• Interdisciplinary collaboration
• Social determinants in medicine

Background:

• Physician-nurse relationships are crucial for patient care.
• Existing research often overlooks how social identities influence collaboration.
• A comprehensive understanding of intersectional factors is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review how intersectional variables shape physician-nurse relations.
• To identify gaps in research concerning social identities and healthcare collaboration.
• To inform future research and practice on interprofessional teamwork.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review of 21 US-based inpatient studies (2000-2020).
• Analysis using the PROGRESS-Plus framework.
• Focused on variables like age, sex/gender, race/ethnicity, and specialty.

Main Results:

• Sex/gender and specialty were most frequently studied.
• Race/ethnicity was significantly underrepresented.
• Few studies intentionally applied an intersectional framework.
• Other factors like experience, language, and culture also influenced dynamics.

Conclusions:

• Current research inadequately addresses the intersectional nature of physician-nurse dynamics.
• Intentional integration of intersectionality is needed in study design and medical education.
• Targeted interventions can improve equitable teamwork and patient outcomes.