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Web site spotlight: Improve nurse-physician relationships

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, April 30, 2008

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Opportunities for improving communication between physicians and nurses pop up every day. You find them in the irate doctor who belittles a nurse in front of a patient, or in the physician who refuses to call a nurse by name. It is during these unfortunate events that the nurse can learn to curb this behavior.

Addressing the conflict and uniting under a zero-tolerance policy for disruptive behavior and verbal abuse is paramount. Yet there are many other strategies that a staff nurse can adopt to foster better communication and collaboration between nurses and physicians. Have your nurses begin by utilizing the following tips:

1. Understand that the difference in your roles may cause confusion. Reinforce your role in patient care. Use the progress notes to identify concisely the problems you addressed on your shift, the progress made, and the plan of care.
2. Gain knowledge and respect through education. Further your education in any way possible, from pursuing a bachelor's degree to pursuing a master's degree. Take advantage of certification courses in your specialty. Request assertiveness training workshops at your institution. Sponsor a conference by nurses and physicians.
3. Ask for what you want. If you feel strongly that the physician needs to see a patient, say so. You don't have to have a diagnosis because you are not the doctor.
4. Insist physicians call you by name.
5. Prepare for telephone calls by having the chart, labs, and recent vital signs in your hand if there is a change in patient status.
6. Acknowledge positive behavior and relationships. If there are physicians that you enjoy working with, send thank you notes and list specific reasons why you enjoy working with them. Send copies of the notes to the medical staffing office.

Editor's note: This excerpt was taken from the article "Strategies for collaborative nurse-physician relationships," found in the Reading Room at www.StrategiesForNurseManagers.com.

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