The Importance of a Doctor-Nurse Relationship

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Doctors and nurses are partners in helping people with their health concerns. Unfortunately, many times their relationship can be strained due to misunderstanding and lack of communication. In reality, doctors and nurses have very little crossover in much of their service, especially in hospitals and clinics. Therefore, it’s important to nurture a good doctor-nurse relationship in order to help the services run smoothly and serve patients.

Cultivating the Doctor-Nurse Relationship

One thing that is repeatedly brought up is the lack of communication between doctors and nurses. Very often, a doctor will make a change to a chart or tell the patient they are making a change and fail to follow up with the nursing staff. Everyone is busy, but a quick phone call or note goes a long way to not cause any undue frustration. In addition, if at all possible, it is helpful for nurses to be present during rounds. Either the nurse overseeing the doctor’s patient or the charge nurse, if available, should be there when the doctor sees the patient in order to cut down on any misunderstanding of changes to charts. This also goes a long way towards helping the patient remember just what the doctor said and why.

Nurses can help with the Doctor-Nurse relationship by not assuming the doctor is trying to treat them as underlings. Often, this can feel like the case as doctors are busy and a bit rushed, they also don’t need to deal with bedside care in the same way as nurses and are not trained to do so. This should not lead to the assumption that doctors are taking nurses for granted. A nurse should not be afraid to ask a doctor what he means and remind him of patient and nursing staff concerns.

Doctor-Nurse Tips for Good Communication

Doctors in return can help by listening to nurses and scheduling enough time for concerns that come up. A nurse is the doctor’s eyes and ears really. They are there day in and day out with patients and take notes of the little things that patient either doesn’t notice about themselves, or is too embarrassed to bring up with the doctor. Doctor’s take time to hear what your nurses tell you. They are highly trained and experienced, and can be your best reference in dealing with difficult cases.

Another way to improve doctor/nurse relationships is to have dual training. If pharmaceutical companies are giving training or new policies, and procedures are being introduced, don’t separate the nursing staff from the physicians in your workplace. Having both at the training lets doctors know what questions nurses have and vice versa. It’s important to understand what different concerns arise on a day-to-day basis, and the care that doctors give medically. Both are going to have different concerns over the same procedures. Knowing these will help you work together.
Doctors can improve their relationship with nurses by doing their bedside jobs occasionally. You know how to change bandages, do it once in a while. A little bit of help when staffing is busy goes a long way.

The main idea is to lighten each other’s load and understand your unique relationship in providing care for patients. Ultimately, it is better for everyone, if you are able to communicate effectively.