Games that professionals play: the social psychology of physician-nurse interaction

The paradox of power dictates that though a society segregates its members into stratified groups, society has to bring these socially distant groups together in a collaborative effort in order to make the social enterprise possible. In terms of professional power, physicians and nurses are hierarchically related in a disparity which is firmly grounded in the social structure. But in a hospital setting these unequal professionals share a common environment and a common goal; they collaborate and communicate in deep interrelationships. Power asymmetry and social intimacy are contrasting categories, and when they are brought together, as in a physician-nurse relationship, there arises an elaborate social ritual that makes an effective communication between them possible without diluting the differences in their status and authority. Their social psychological game manifests itself in both institutional and behavioral expressions. The perpetuation of power rests on a structural and symbolic legitimacy. Any attempt to change the status quo would require that one recognize and deal with both these faces of power.