THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN DOCTORS AND NURSES - A NEGOTIATED ORDER PERSPECTIVE

This paper reports on a study of the interplay between nurses and doct ors in medical and surgical wards in Sweden. The social order on the w ards is seen as a negotiated order, the result of a continuous negotia tion between doctors and nurses. The negotiated order perspective is a rgued to be a more appropriate means of understanding the interaction on wards than the traditional doctor-nurse game model which has domina ted research until now. In particular, the study shows the importance of analysing the structural basis of negotiations and its knowledge co ntext in order to understand the interplay of doctors' and nurses' opp ortunities for exerting power on the wards.