Open AccessCooperation and conflict in intra‐hospital transfers: A qualitative analysis
Author(s) -
Germack Hayley D.,
Fekieta Renee,
Campbell Britton Meredith,
Feder Shelli L.,
Rosenberg Alana,
Chaudhry Sarwat I.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
nursing open
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.55
H-Index - 12
ISSN - 2054-1058
DOI - 10.1002/nop2.434
Subject(s) - content analysis , qualitative research , qualitative analysis , multidisciplinary approach , nursing , quality (philosophy) , multidisciplinary team , psychology , power (physics) , medicine , medical education , sociology , social science , philosophy , physics , epistemology , quantum mechanics
Aim The purpose of this study was to explore the latent conditions of cooperation and conflict in intra‐hospital patient transfers (i.e. transfers of patients between units in a hospital). Design Secondary qualitative analysis of 28 interviews conducted with 29 hospital staff, including physicians ( N = 13), nurses ( N = 10) and support staff ( N = 6) from a single, large academic tertiary hospital in the Northeastern United States. Methods A two‐member multidisciplinary team applied a directed content analysis approach to data collected from semi‐structured interviews. Results Three recurrent themes were generated: (a) patient flow policies created imbalances of power; (b) relationships were helpful to facilitate safe transfers; and (c) method of admission order communication was a source of disagreement. Hospital quality improvement efforts could benefit from a teaming approach to minimize unintentional power imbalances and optimize communicative relationships between units.