Relationships Get Sick Too: An Exploration of Nurse-Physician Relationships in Modern Medicine Open Access

Abstract

By 2050, it is expected that there will be 83.7 million people living in the United States aged 65 or older, almost double the estimated population in 2012. However, hospitals are currently not equipped to handle such a large influx of patients and it is imperative that we research how to improve and optimize the care received by our nation’s future elderly population. Therefore, it is worth exploring the relationship between nurses and physicians as past research has shown that increased teamwork in medicine results in better patient outcomes. In this study, I will be examining the nurse-physician relationship and attempting to find factors that influence the quality of the relationship. Additionally, I will be examining the perceptions of current hospital administration teamwork initiatives to better understand what nurses and physicians believe works and what does not work in actual practice. I first discuss the theoretical framework and present supporting empirical research about the relationship between nurses and physicians. I conducted 27 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with nurses and physicians from both Georgia and the South Florida region. I present major themes and patterns in the experiences of my participants. This study adds to previous literature by examining the perceptions and experiences of nurses and physicians about their working relationship.

Table of Contents

I. Introduction..........1

II. Research Questions..........2

III. Theoretical Framework and Empirical Literature Review..........2

Hospital Culture in the Past..........2

Hospital Culture in the Present..........5

Good Versus Bad Nurse-Physician Relationships..........6

Changes in Medical Curriculum..........11

Summary..........13

IV. Hypotheses..........14

V. Methods..........14

Research Design..........14

Site and Sample..........15

Data Collection..........16

Data Analysis..........17

VI. Results..........18

Age of Physicians: Modern Focus on Teamwork in Medicine..........19

Age of Physicians: Change in Workplace Dynamic..........24

Age of Nurses: Interpersonal Relationships with Physicians..........27

VII. Discussion..........30

VIII. References..........36

IX. Appendices..........37   

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Sociology
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Sociology, Industrial and Labor Relations
Keyword	Nurse-Physician Relationships
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Scott, Tracy, Emory University
Committee Members	Muratore, Simona, Emory University Dowd, Timothy, Emory University

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