Getting work done: a grounded theory study of resident physician value of nursing communication

ABSTRACT

Poor communication between nurses and physicians results in patient injury and increased healthcare costs. While multiple attempts have been made to improve communication between the two professions, evidence confirms little progress has been made. Previous research focused on standardizing communication processes and protocols between nurses and physicians rather than examining the relational component of these human interactions. The purpose of this study was to explore physician valuing of nursing communication in the context of patient care. Interviews were conducted with 15 internal medicine resident physicians. A constructivist grounded theory approach was used to develop the substantive theory of Getting Work Done. Getting Work Done incorporated three major categories: discerning the team, shifting communication, and accessing nurse knowledge and abilities. Hierarchical behaviors and language, and nurse collusion in both, characterized nurse-physician communication and situated the nurse outside the decision-making team. Complex work environments further devalued nurse-physician communication. Interprofessional education and practice must advance the unique and essential role of all health care professionals such that mutual valuing replaces hierarchical actions with collaborative systems for determining the most effective approaches to patient care.     

Subject positions theory -- its application to understanding collaboration (and confrontation) in critical care

BACKGROUND: Doctors and nurses do not usually take a collaborative approach to the ethical challenges of the critical care environment. This leads to the stresses that produce moral anguish and burnout -- both for nursing and medical staff. A more collegial relationship between nurses and physicians should improve patient care. If we are to promote this collegiality, one way to proceed is to investigate the interactions between health care professionals in order to develop an understanding of the barriers to, and supports for collaboration. AIM: Subject positions theory offers a method of explaining and elucidating the interactions between nurse and physician in terms of power dynamics, mutual expectations and the discourse available to each individual. This paper aims to demonstrate how subject positions theory can facilitate the interpretation of the interactions between health professionals in terms of the power dynamics influencing those interactions. DISCUSSION: This paper will use the example of a case study from my own research to demonstrate the application of this theory and its usefulness in the analysis of the interactions between health care professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Application of this theory is used to demonstrate the author's argument that the current political and cultural structure of the health care system does not support the subject position - nurse advocate.     

Collaborative practice: the nurse practitioner's role in its success or failure

This study critically analyzes the underlying values, beliefs and behaviors of 18 family nurse practitioners and physicians who identified themselves as being in a joint practice relationship. Participants in the study were interviewed separately and in pairs around issues related to their reasons for joint practice, their interactional patterns, and how these patterns could be different. Transcribed interviews and data summaries for each practice were returned to the participants for review, discussion and validation. Results of the study suggested that the language, values and behaviors of the nurses continued to support, to varying degrees, the authoritarian and dominant position of the physician. In addition, nurses tended to demonstrate distorted communication and non-meaningful interactions. The possibility for nurses to create conditions in the practice relationship oriented toward mutual understanding and effective collaboration was clearly apparent in a few of these practices. Steps essential in achieving these conditions include the following: 1) self reflection; 2) clarification of goals; 3) examination of interactional patterns; 4) analysis of the level of commitment to mutual understanding; 5) willingness to risk calling issues into question; 6) conscious commitment to maintaining this level of communication over time; and 7) facilitating the physician partner's commitment to these goals.     

A registered nurse-licensed vocational nurse partnership model for critical care nursing.

The development, implementation, and evaluation of a program that incorporates a registered nurse and licensed vocational nurse partnership model into the critical care practice setting is described. This model can be used by nurse executives to alleviate some of the immediate consequences of the nursing shortage and potentially to achieve a longer-range solution by expanding the pool of registered nurses. Evaluation of the program revealed statistically significant increases in nurse job satisfaction; perceptions of reduced workload and stress; a perception by registered nurses and physicians of increased nursing care quality; decreased registered nurse turnover and sick time; and a positive perception of the role of the licensed vocational nurse in the critical care unit.     

新疆自治区PICC专科护士多点执业认知与意愿的调查分析

目的调查新疆自治区PICC专科护士多点执业的认知与意愿,旨在为PICC专科护士多点执业的推行提供理论依据。方法采用PICC专科护士多点执业认知与意愿问卷,对新疆158名PICC专科护士进行问卷调查。结果 PICC专科护士对护士多点执业认知总得分为(33.11±7.62)分,护士能级、聘用类别、月收入、从事PICC护理工作为PICC专科护士多点执业认知的影响因素,可共同解释PICC专科护士多点执业认知得分总变异的45.00%。PICC专科护士多点执业意愿总得分为(84.93±9.27)分,年龄、工作年限、学历、聘用类别、能级为PICC专科护士多点执业意愿的影响因素,可共同解释PICC专科护士多点执业意愿得分总变异的23.60%。45.39%护士认为多点执业首先考虑的因素是法律保障;91.45%认为多点执业可以发挥自身专业特长;82.89%护士认为通过多点执业,可提高自身职业价值;88.16%护士认为,通过多点执业可提高自己的社会地位和增强职业认同感。结论新疆自治区PICC专科护士多点执业认知处于中等水平,多点执业意愿强烈。加强对低年资、学历及低能级护士的教育,提高她们护士多点执业认知,同时完善相关法律和多点执业监督体系,明确多点护士的职责,以稳步推进PICC专科护士多点执业向前发展。     

Nurses' and physicians' performance on clinical simulation test: hypertension.

The purposes of this study were to determine whether nurse practitioners with a master's degree (NPM), nurse practitioners with a certificate (NPC), and public health nurses (PHN) perform as proficiently as family practice physicians (FPP) in assessing and managing essential hypertension and whether the four groups use a psychosocial or pathophysiological model in providing care. Subjects included 30 FPPs, 30 NPMs, 33 NPCs, and 40 PHNs. A clinical simulation test required subjects to collect data, identify problems, interpret tests, and formulate care plans. Criterion test performance was established by eight expert nurses and physicians. Physicians and nurse practitioners were equally proficient, and public health nurses were significantly less proficient on only 3 of 11 test sections. Sharpest contrasts were in test interpretation, with FPPs clearly more expert. FPPs practice style was less psychosocial but not more pathophysiological than that of the nurse practitioners. The study suggests that, except for nurses greater use of a psychosocial model, expanded role nurses and physicians perform similarly in assessing and managing hypertension and that, with slightly more training, PHNs could perform comparably.     

Nurse Practitioners: Reevaluation of the Need for and Willingness to Hire by Nurse Administrators, Nurse Practitioners, and Physicians

A survey of all nurse administrators and advanced practice nurses and a simple random sample survey of licensed physicians in Nevada were completed to reevaluate the perceived need for and willingness to hire nurse practitioners (NPs). The reevaluation was deemed necessary based on a similar survey that was completed by these authors in 1990. At that time significant questions were raised concerning the lack of understanding of the role of NPs in and their contribution to the health care team.
The results of the study clearly indicate that the unique contributions of the NP to the health care team should be further publicized and clarified. In addition, for some physicians, a significant disparity continues to exist between the optimal, collaborative role and the more readily accepted dependent role of the NP. The family NP (FNP) continues to be the most desired specialty for those who hire NPs.     

Steering a course towards advanced nurse practitioner: a critical care perspective

Aim: This article is a report of a study of the experiences of expert critical care nurses in their transition to the role of advanced nurse practitioner within an intensive care unit (ICU) setting. Background: The advanced nurse practitioner role was developed to support the ICU team and to undertake many of the roles traditionally associated with junior medical staff in this specialized area. The impetus for this study therefore was generated from the need to explore the role development experiences of trainee advanced nurse practitioners to inform future developments and practice. Methods: This study used grounded theory methodology to conduct and analyse data from 25 participants. The data were collected between March 2010 and August 2010, using interview format. Data collection and analysis was conducted simultaneously using methods associated with grounded theory, theoretical sampling and the constant comparative method. Results: ‘Staying the course to advanced nursing practice’ emerged as the core category, with four related major categories and substantive codes. In conjunction, the substantive theory explaining the essential processes involved comprised of three inextricably linked processes: situational, development and conceptual meaning. The developed conceptual model captures the unique experiences of expert critical care nurses during their transition to confident and competent advanced nurse practitioners. Conclusion: This study provides an account of the role transition from expert critical care nurse to advanced nurse practitioner, specifically the synthesis of expert nursing practice with traditional medical values. The conceptual model has the potential to be utilized as a framework for others embarking upon similar projects, informing advanced nurse practitioner roles within and out with critical care settings.     

The doctor-nurse relationship: an historical perspective

The purpose of this historical research was to explore the evolution of the doctor-nurse relationship. Specifically, older nurses were interviewed regarding their nursing interactions with physicians approximately 50 years ago. A grounded theory approach was employed to analyse the data. Inherent to the difficulties nurses experienced was the dominant power position assumed by doctors in the health profession. The data give added insights into the development of this relationship. It was found that because nurses were educated primarily by doctors and because they were hired by doctors if they were considered to be 'good' nurses, a sex role stereotype of the nurse emerged. Historically these roles have influenced and continued to influence the nursing profession.     

The advanced practice nurse. Changing the practice law: what did we learn?

The nurse practice statute was changed in Connecticut during the 1999 Legislative session in an effort to more accurately reflect the current practice of advanced practice nurses. The effort to make changes began in 1990, when the psychiatric clinical nurse specialists organized and incorporated to improve the practice status of this nurse specialty group and to improve patient accessibility to their services. This article describes the changes that were made in the practice statute and the lessons that were learned along the way. It elaborates on the need for strong organizational identification, coalition building, choosing legal and lobbying support carefully, negotiating with the opposition, and grassroots lobbying. Compromise was reached and statutory changes were made so that advanced practice nurses moved from being under the direction of physicians to a mutually agreed-on collaborative relationship with physicians. The article provides insights and learning experiences that may help others moving along the road to more independent practice laws.     

Development and testing of the theory of collaborative decision-making in nursing practice for triads

BACKGROUND: Although nurses depend heavily on informal family caregivers to provide care to clients and to be involved in care planning and decision-making, no nursing theories that include the client, the caregiver, and the nurse were available to guide collaborative care planning and decision-making. AIM: The purpose of this paper is to describe the construction and initial testing of the theory of collaborative decision-making in nursing practice for a triad. The theory represents an extension of Kim's theory of collaborative decision-making in nursing practice. Kim's theory was developed to describe and explain collaborative decision-making in a dyad (client and nurse). The inclusion of a third person (family caregiver) in the theory required the addition of concepts about the caregiver, coalition formation, and nurse and caregiver outcomes. The expansion of Kim's dyadic theory to a triadic theory was achieved by means of a modified version of the theory derivation process described by Walker and Avant. CONCLUSIONS: The theory of collaborative decision-making in nursing practice for a triad can be used to guide further research and clinical practice. The theory provides a framework for researchers who are interested in studying the effects of collaboration regarding decision-making among nurses, family caregivers, and clients. The initial testing of the new theory in home health care nursing revealed variety in the nature of the client-caregiver-nurse relationships, the many processes used by the nurses in proceeding with the home visits, a multitude of decisions considered and different collaborative, noncollaborative, and coalition-forming interactions. The limited evidence of the empirical adequacy of the theory precludes development of definitive guidelines for clinical practice at this time. More studies are required before clinical practice guidelines can be developed.     

Advancing Nursing Practice with a Unit-based Clinical Expert

Objective: To explore patterns in the practice of nursing and patient outcomes.
Design: Qualitative field research.
Population, Sample, Setting: Populations were critical care nurses and critically ill adult patients in the 10-bed medical critical care unit of a 900-bed teaching hospital. A convenience-purposive sample of 27 nurses and 31 patients was studied in 1985.
Methods: Six months of participant observation, unstructured interviews, and the constant comparison method of grounded theory.
Findings: Markedly different patterns were found in expert and nonexpert practice. The substantive theory of conversion helped explain how the majority of nonexpert nurses advanced their practice. The metaphor of catalyzed conversion captures how a unit-based expert nurse serves as a catalyst to advance the practice of nonexperts. Presence, defined as the way of being within a given clinical context, differentiated nurses.
Conclusions: (a) Expert and nonexpert practices are substantively different, (b) Expert and nonexpert practice results in different patient outcomes, (c) Conversion helps explain changes in nonexpert practice.
Clinical Implications: A unit-based expert nurse can increase patient-focused care.     

Communication training in nursing may damage your health and enthusiasm: some warnings

The purpose of this paper is to outline and discuss some of the fundamental theoretical and practical considerations bearing on the teaching of communications skills to nurses. Although evidence exists that communications training is needed, and welcomed by both nurses and nurse managers, implementation of training schemes without consideration of a number of critical issues is likely to result in only partial success, or even complete failure. The issues identified and discussed in this paper are the need for accurate assessment and evaluation, the need to understand and take into account resistance to change at the level of both the individual and the organization, and most pervasively, the need for a clear relationship between theory and practice.     

The meaning of being a perioperative nurse

The purpose of this study is to describe the meaning of being a perioperative nurse within the contexts of the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural forces that influence perioperative nursing practice. A theory of communicative action provided the framework for this philosophical inquiry. The researcher conducted one-time, in-depth interviews with six expert perioperative nurses selected from three practice settings in the northeastern United States. These interviews resulted in the text that the researcher analyzed based on the principles of critical hermeneutics, and four constitutive patterns were identified. The meaning of being a perioperative nurse for these nurses was identified as a struggle to make sense of their existence in the OR.     

Nurse practitioner liability and authority

Nurse practitioners are being held to a higher professional standard. No longer can nurses assume that their practice is protected by physicians and hospitals. Current trends indicate that nurse practitioners are accountable for their actions and are liable for malpractice. Legislation regulating the practice of nurse practitioners varies from state to state; differing opinions among nurses, physicians, and legislators account for some of these variances. The ultimate goal of the health care professions is the delivery of safe, effective, cost-efficient health care. Nurse practitioners are helping to achieve this goal.     

非试点省份护士对“互联网+护理服务”意愿调查

目的 分析非试点省份护士对“互联网+护理服务”的了解程度、参与意愿及影响因素,为“互联网+护理服务”发展提供参考。 方法 采取便利抽样法,2019年6月—7月采用自制问卷对全国非试点省份不同等级医院执业护士进行“互联网+护理服务”意愿问卷调查。 结果 来自华南、华北、华中、华东、东北、西北、西南地区127所医院的3 242名护士中,641名（19.8%）了解“互联网+护理服务”,1 541名（47.5%）愿意参与“互联网+护理服务”。390名（60.8%）对“互联网+护理服务”的了解主要来源于社交网络。护士认为参与“互联网+护理服务”的益处依次是,2 690名（82.9%）护士选择体现护理服务价值、2 557名（78.8%）护士选择提高收入、2 442名（75.3%）护士选择拓宽执业发展路径和促进护理学科发展,2 706名（83.4%）护士认为参与“互联网+护理服务”增大了医疗风险及纠纷的弊端,担忧执业安全无保障;3 045名（93.9%）护士希望能从国家层面明确立法,以保障执业安全。Logistic回归分析结果显示,男性、已婚、学历高、职称高、有房贷压力、了解“互联网+护理服务”的护士愿意参与“互联网+护理服务”（P<0.05）。 结论 非试点省份护士对“互联网+护理服务”的了解程度较低,“互联网+护理服务”的了解程度影响参与“互联网+护理服务”的意愿。需进一步完善相关法律制度、普及相关政策的宣传及宣讲,提升护士参与“互联网+护理服务”的意愿。     

Clinical Decision Making of Staff Nurses

A qualitative analysis of the satisfaction of nurses with clinical decision making, the nature of the decision making, nurses' involvement in the process and factors that influence decision-making behavior is presented. The data were obtained from interviews conducted with physicians and nurses as a part of a study of nurse turnover and vacancy in hospitals. Staff nurse involvement in decision making is described as being interdependent; nurses reported general satisfaction with their involvement, while physicians generally resisted the decision-making discretion of nurses. Nurses on specialized and critical care units were more satisfied than were nurses who worked on general medical-surgical units. Trust and control were central issues. Implications for considering what knowledge, skill and decisional authority are needed for patient care are discussed.     

Towards a comprehensive theory of nurse/patient empowerment: applying Kanter's empowerment theory to patient care

spence laschinger h.k., gilbert s., smith l.m. & leslie k. (2010) Journal of Nursing Management 18, 4–13
Towards a comprehensive theory of nurse/patient empowerment: applying Kanter's empowerment theory to patient care
Aim  The purpose of this theoretical paper is to propose an integrated model of nurse/patient empowerment that could be used as a guide for creating high-quality nursing practice work environments that ensure positive outcomes for both nurses and their patients.
Background  There are few integrated theoretical approaches to nurse and patient empowerment in the literature, although nurse empowerment is assumed to positively affect patient outcomes.
Evaluation  The constructs described in Kanter's (1993) work empowerment theory are conceptually consistent with the nursing care process and can be logically extended to nurses' interactions with their patients and the outcomes of nursing care.
Key issues  We propose a model of nurse/patient empowerment derived from Kanter's theory that suggests that empowering working conditions increase feelings of psychological empowerment in nurses, resulting in greater use of patient empowerment strategies by nurses, and, ultimately, greater patient empowerment and better health outcomes.
Conclusions  Empirical testing of the model is recommended prior to use of the model in clinical practice.
Implications for Nursing Management  We argue that empowered nurses are more likely to empower their patients, which results in better patient and system outcomes. Strategies for managers to empower nurses and for nurses to empower patients are suggested.     

Nurse-patient interaction: a review of the literature

Aims. The aims of this paper are to review a theoretical model useful for developing nursing knowledge related to nurse–patient interaction, review the literature on nurse–patient interaction, and discuss areas for further research. Theoretical model. Goffman's theory of face work. Results. Nurse–patient interaction is a central element of clinical nursing practice. This paper shows how Goffman's model can be used as a theoretical framework for understanding nurse–patient communication. Relevance to clinical practice. Issues such as power, the social and cultural context, and interpersonal competence are shown to be important in the quality of nurse–patient interactions and nurses need to take cognizance of these factors in their interactions with patients.     

Statistical testing of the full-range leadership theory in nursing

The aim of this study is to test statistically the structure of the full-range leadership theory in nursing. The data were gathered by postal questionnaires from nurses and nurse leaders working in healthcare organizations in Finland. A follow-up study was performed 1 year later. The sample consisted of 601 nurses and nurse leaders, and the follow-up study had 78 respondents. Theory was tested through structural equation modelling, standard regression analysis and two-way anova . Rewarding transformational leadership seems to promote and passive laissez-faire leadership to reduce willingness to exert extra effort, perceptions of leader effectiveness and satisfaction with the leader. Active management-by-exception seems to reduce willingness to exert extra effort and perception of leader effectiveness. Rewarding transformational leadership remained as a strong explanatory factor of all outcome variables measured 1 year later. The data supported the main structure of the full-range leadership theory, lending support to the universal nature of the theory.