Understanding nurse–physician conflicts in the ICU

Let’s go to the future, next 2015. In the online version of Intensive Care Medicine, the journal of ESICM, they offer us the article Understanding nurse–physician conflicts in the ICU

In a world where it´s increasingly the concept of teamwork, collaboration is essential to optimize care and improve the situation and satisfaction of healthcare providers .

Conflicts between nurses and intensivists and other clinical threaten the concept of team and have a direct bearing on the well-being of the patient and family, as well as generate burn-out and increased costs. Decision making in our environment is hindered by different attitudes, perceptions, experience and responsibilities.

And these conflicts are much more common than we think. The argument between nurses and physicians commonly arise in care at the end of life, where nurses don’t feel heard.

The authors grouped these conflicts in 4 categories:

1. Relational: depend on the personality of the team members.

2. Procedural, primarily due to the lack of communication, lack of clarity in common objectives and leadership.

3. Organizational.

1. Good communication: through joint sessions, inter-professional and interdisciplinary committees, common bedside and common protocols.

2. Respect: developing a culture that values and recognizes the contributions of all members as different but equally important.

Certainly something is changing in ICUs around the world. We are living a historic moment, where it seems we put focus on people, regardless of their status.