Professional boundary struggles in the context of healthcare change: the relational and symbolic constitution of nursing ethos in the space of possible professionalisation

What is it about?

Political ideas of flexible healthcare provision endorses flexible and dynamic boundaries between healthcare professions. Yet, even in the face of political will, changes to professional boundaries happen slowly due to tradition and the field’s institutionalised power hierarchy. In this paper, I show how Danish nurses attempt to expand their jurisdiction into the traditional realm of the medical profession encouraged by political ideas of flexible healthcare provision and an overall belief in science and evidence-based knowledge in the field. The nurses embark on new education, titles and roles that more or less rely on evidence-based scientific knowledge, which allows them to embark on a more curing role in practice. Their success is however inhibited by the medical profession and within their own ranks, where many nurses believe that their vocational cause is caring rather than curing.

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Why is it important?

Understanding professional boundary dynamics is important in relation to healthcare manageability and sustainable developments within the health professions.