Doctor turned Patient: A look at why physicians tend to undervalue the importance of

nursing

Mathes, M (2017)

Introduction

In this research, other physicians many suggested that the culture of medicine may be
responsible for physicians failing to understand the value of nurses, and training is an
important component of that care.

For instance, young doctors are trained during rounds in which they follow physicians
through the hospital as they teach and impart wisdom that will have a major impact on
how doctor trainees practice medicine for years to come. During rounds at Hospitals,
many physicians preferred to remain in the hallway outside the patient's room, relying
on test results and vitals to plan further care.

Research Method

Using an interview method and recorded the conversation, the team conducted an
interview with Dr. Relman, a doctor who was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital
(MGH) in Boston after a fall down the stairs left him with a cracked skull and three
broken vertebrae.

He stated that after he moved to a rehabilitation hospital, where he described the

nursing care as "sometimes excellent but often inadequate" and noted that no single
physician appeared to be taking charge of his case.

Results:

This behavior can appear "impersonal, perceived perhaps as a way of shielding bad
information,", adding that instead of going to the bedside, physicians rely on nurses for
the "crucial elements in patient care—the physical touch and the personal touch."

Reflecting on what he learned from his hospitalizations, Dr. Relman wrote that
physicians "now spend more time with their computers than at the bedside." As a result,
"What personal care hospitalized patients now get is mostly from nurses."

Conclusion:

Further complicating the matter is the recent surge of medical technology, that has
made work "vastly more complicated" for hospital staff Technology's monitors, images,
and devices can deflect a doctor's attention," as evidenced by Relman's hospital
records, which Dr. Relman described as consisting mainly of technical data and little
descriptions of his actual progress and mental state and Nurses plays a vital role to
administer the needs and support of the patients no matter who they are and what
status they have.