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An interprofessional perspective on healthcare work: physicians and nurses co-constructing identities and spaces of action

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2019

Erika Lokatt ,
Charlotte Holgersson ,
Monica Lindgren ,
Johann Packendorff Open the ORCID record for Johann Packendorff [Opens in a new window]  and
Louise Hagander
Erika Lokatt
Affiliation:
Helseplan Consulting Group, Stockhom, Sweden School of Industrial Engineering and Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Charlotte Holgersson
Affiliation:
School of Industrial Engineering and Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Monica Lindgren
Affiliation:
School of Industrial Engineering and Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Johann Packendorff*
Affiliation:
School of Industrial Engineering and Management, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Louise Hagander
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences Danderyd Hospital, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
*
*Corresponding author. Email: johann@kth.se
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Abstract

In this article we develop a theoretical perspective of how professional identities in multi-professional organisational settings are co-constructed in daily interactions. The research reported here is located in a healthcare context where overlapping knowledge bases, unclear divisions of responsibilities, and an increased managerialist emphasis on teamwork make interprofessional boundaries in healthcare operations more complex and blurred than ever. We thereby build on a research tradition that recognises the healthcare sector as a negotiated order, specifically studying how professional identities are invoked, constructed, and re-constructed in everyday work interactions. The perspective is employed in an analysis of qualitative data from interviews and participant observation at a large Swedish hospital, in which we find three main processes in the construction of space of action: hierarchical, inclusive, and pseudo-inclusive. In most of the interactions, existing inter-professional divides and power relations are sustained, preventing developments towards integrated interprofessional teamwork.

Keywords

healthcare managementorganisational culturepower and dependencesocial constructionpublic sector management
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 29 , Issue 6 , November 2023 , pp. 1103 - 1119
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2019

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