Power struggles in hospital between MD vs DNP. Nursing Essay

Power Struggles in Hospital Between MD And DNP
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Most of the conflicts reported in hospitals are between the nurses and doctors. Each of them has specific roles that they should attend to, but in most cases, they end up working beyond their jurisdiction. Such conflicts not only create an inconducive work environment but also reduce the quality of healthcare being accorded to patients. Nursing requires both nurse scientists and practice experts to expand their knowledge to ensure that they provide the best care to their patients. Through doctoral education, nurses are prepared for the best levels of leadership and scientific inquiry. In some cases, the nurses might opt to become educators, but the main purpose of the educational program is to provide them with information to be applied in treating patients. Therefore, the larger percentage of nurses choose to work in hospitals. In addition, medical doctors examine and treat patients and are also in a position to specialize in different medical areas such as cardiology, pediatrics, and anesthesiology among others. They require state licensure for them to be able to attend to patients. As well, medical doctors and doctor of nursing practice are trained differently and therefore; this brings out the differences in the roles that they should perform in the hospitals. DNPs should hence not identify themselves as doctors because they do not undergo all the training that is necessary for an individual to become a doctor. Hence are plenty of differences between MDs and DNPs in terms of their various roles in the hospitals which are caused by the difference in their educational levels. The MDs are obliged at achieving certain tasks which cannot be attained by the DNPs. Therefore, their difference in levels of education and power has resulted in plenty of conflicts which in turn, reduce the quality of healthcare offered to the patients.
Types of power dynamics in the hospitals/sources of power
Expert power occurs in a situation whereby the involved parties have different qualifications in regard to their education. There are various conflicts that arise as a result of the difference in power between the MD and the DPN. For example, DNPs are allowed to prescribe medicine without the supervision of an MD. This is a source of conflict in the organization because the doctors feel like they have equal obligation with the nurses regardless of the difference in their levels of education. The MDs and DNPs are known to have different educational levels, and therefore, it is the obligation of each one of them to act within their stipulated roles. There are some medical cases that can only be handled by a doctor, and therefore, the nurses should be made aware of such cases in a polite manner to avoid creating a conflict. Such power comes in with a leadership role and given the fact that not everyone is able to lead, then this becomes a challenge to the doctor in the manner in which they handle cases with the DNP. Some doctors lack favorable leadership traits, and in turn, it becomes difficult for them to effectively communicate roles to the nurses. Once the DNPs fail to perform roles that were not effectively communicated to them, then they end up having a...