Nurse's and Physician's Experiences of the Pattern of their Professional Relationship with Each Other: A Phenomenological Study

Given the common work scope of nurses and physicians, and the complementarity of the two professions, professional communication is inevitable. Effective communication between physicians and nurses is shown to enhance patient care and increase professional successfully and satisfaction. This study aimed to assess nurse's and physician's experiences of the pattern of their professional relationship with each other.
This was a qualitative research using phenomenological method. 15 semi-structured interviews were carried out with 8 nurses and 7 physicians. They described their experiences related to professional communication. The interviews were recorded and transcribed and the data were then analyzed using Colaizzi analysis method.
317 codes, 4 themes, and 19 subthemes which influenced the nurse-physician relationship were emerged from data analysis. One of the main themes was perception of the relationship pattern. Professional relationships between physicians and nurses were described based on this theme.
Based on the experience lived by nurses and physicians, to understand the professional relationship, perception of the relationship pattern should be known. It is an exponential relationship that improves the quality of patient care and nurse's and physician's job satisfaction. Nurse-physician professional relationship improves via cooperation, interaction, and dealing, and threatens by authoritarian and relationship, lack of cooperation and interaction, and scapegoating.